The Voice in the Woods
by Harmony Slytherin
Summary: Ron has disappeared, and Harry and the Weasley's are trying desperately to find him. Meanwhile, Ron discovers a secret, and he may never be able to return to Hogwarts again...
1. The News

Chapter 1:  
The News  
  
Seventeen years ago the most powerful Dark force for a century was defeated by a tiny, one year old child. The young boy was hailed as a hero in the hidden magical world, but Harry Potter knew nothing of witches or wizards until he was eleven years old. He was then told the amazing story of his young life, which the whole rotten Dursley family had hidden from him.  
Lord Voldemort had murdered Lily and James Potter using the Avada Kadavra curse. The curse hit Harry, who, by some miracle, survived. The killing curse mirrored off Harry and hit the Dark Lord instead. Harry escaped with a lightening bolt scar on his forehead, while Voldemort fled, barely alive.  
At first the whispers and gawking that followed Harry when he came to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry unnerved him, but he was used to it by now. On September first he would start his seventh year Hogwarts. He couldn't wait to get back to school, but before the summer's end he hoped he could go to his best friend, Ron Weasley's, house.  
It was a bright, sunny, Tuesday morning. The weather was beckoning everyone outside, and Harry Potter was in his bedroom, doing his Potions homework. He was really mad at Professor Snape for giving them so much when they were supposed to be on vacation. He looked out the window longingly, and saw something small and feathery flapping in his direction at top speed. Harry ducked as it flew over his head and landed on his bed with a small "plop."  
"Pig!" Harry exclaimed, recognizing Ron's owl. Hedwig, Harry's snowy owl, gave a very loud and disapproving hoot from her cage on his desk. Harry ran to the tiny owl, untied the envelope from his leg, ripped open the envelope, and read;  
Dear Harry,  
Something awful has happened! It's Ron, he's gone! No one has seen him for days! Everything is just horrible around here, and I'm not any better than anyone else. Do you think it's You-Know-who? Sorry, but you can't come stay this summer, and with Ron gone, why would you? I'm really scared! ~Ginny~  
Harry read this, and all the happiness he had felt upon seeing Pig leaked out of him. Sure, he couldn't leave number four, but so what? Ron disappearing was a thousand times worse. He sat on his bed, in numb almost numb state. Ron, gone? That was impossible! He felt a pang of sadness when he thought about what the Weasleys must be going through. He thought that must be especially hard on Ginny, who Ron had grown quite close to.   
Harry went back to his desk and stared miserably at this homework. What if Ron wasn't back in time for school? (Ron was also in Gryffindor and the seventh and final year at Hogwarts.) What if…?  
"You!" Aunt Petunia screeched from downstairs. "Boy, get down here this instant!!!"  
"What've I done now?" Harry mumbled under his breath. He trudged downstairs and saw his Aunt (who had a very sour look on her face, indeed) holding an envelope at arm's length. She thrust it in his direction.   
"Here!" she screamed, as though the envelope would explode at any second, "Here! It's yours!" She threw it at him and scurried into the kitchen.  
"A letter for me?" Harry thought aloud. Who did he know that sent letters by the Muggle postman and did it properly. He had a ghost of a smile as he remembered the letter Mrs. Weasley had sent his aunt and uncle three years ago. Then he picked up the letter and glanced at the return address.  
It was from Hermione! Of course! She was Muggle born and didn't own an owl. He took it upstairs and opened it, hoping it didn't contain more bad news.  
  
Dear Harry,  
Hi! Did Ginny send you a letter about Ron? Isn't that terrible? I can't stop thinking about Ron. I feel so bad for the Weasleys. Anyway, I know you can't stand your Muggle relatives, so would you like to come meet mine? I was going to invite Ron too, but…I don't want to think about it. We'll pick you up around on Wednesday around 4:00, okay? See you then!  
*Hermione*  
P. S. My report on ancient Greek wizardry was five rolls of parchment than Professor Binns asked for. Do you think that will count against me?   
  
"Well, at least I get to leave the Dursleys." Harry murmured. Normally he would've been overjoyed at the prospect of going to the Granger's, (he'd never been their before) but he, like Hermione, couldn't get Ron out of his mind. He went into the kitchen for breakfast.  
  
  
"Comb your hair!" barked Uncle Vernon. Harry ignored him and started eating his breakfast. "Aren't you leaving?" growled Uncle Vernon. Harry looked up startled.   
"What do you mean?"  
"Every summer you run off to that ruddy Wesler family, so when are leaving?"  
Harry felt that the Dursley's were being very insensitive. Even though this was perfectly normal. Of course, they didn't know about Ron, but Harry didn't care.   
"No, I'm not going to the Weasley's house." Harry said coldly, emphasizing the correct pronunciation of Ron's name. "I'm going to Hermione Granger's house. She is picking me up tomorrow."   
"Tomorrow!?!?" Uncle Vernon roared.   
"Yes," Harry said in a cold voice, looking his uncle straight in the eye. "She's picking me up around 4:00."  
"If they don't come on time…" Aunt Petunia said in a threatening voice, but she didn't say anything else. Harry had never mentioned that Hermione was Muggle born, and Dudley looked terrified. There was no surprise to this, Dudley had had bad experiences with wizards. Once he had emerged from an encounter with a wizard with a curly pigs tail, another time, a four feet long tongue.  
Harry wolfed down breakfast to get away from the Dursleys. Harry was giving him "if looks could kill" stares. Harry was glad they couldn't, otherwise he would've been dead yesterday.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Hermione's House

Chapter 2:  
Hermione's House  
  
The next day was so tense that Harry jumped three feet in the air when Dudley's fork fell to the floor with a loud "CLANG" at lunch. Dudley also jumped, making him look like a large, bouncing blimp.  
At 3:30 Harry was downstairs with his trunk. Uncle Vernon had carefully unboarded the fireplace in the living room. There was no use telling the Dursleys that the Grangers definitely were not arriving by floo powder, and that they were driving. He had told the Dursleys one summer that Ron was picking him up via car, and showed up behind the boarded fireplace, not thinking that the floo powder might fail. It had been a disaster, Harry grinned just thinking about it.  
Dudley had hidden in his room, refusing to come out. Harry, however, (who was in the hall, away from his nerve racking aunt and uncle) saw that Dudley's curiosity was getting the better of him. Dudley would sneak down, quietly considering his weight, and peer around the corner of the landing, and see if they had arrived yet.  
At 4:oo sharp the doorbell rang. Aunt Petunia gasped. Both she and Uncle Vernon had been eyeing the fireplace with increasing nervousness, and Harry could almost see the looks of shock from the other room. Harry grinned for the first time since getting Ginny's letters as he threw open the door, his aunt and uncle running up behind him and Dudley peering around the corner.   
Hermione was standing on the porch, looking nervous. She looked strange to Harry momentarily, and he couldn't quit put his finger on it. Then he realized that Hermione was wearing Muggle clothes; a pair of jeans and a lavender blouse.  
"Hey Harry," she said.  
"Hi Hermione," Harry turned to his aunt and uncle. "Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, this is Hermione. Hermione, the Dursleys." Hermione smiled nervously. Aunt Petunia chewed her toungue, while Uncle Vernon looked over Hermione's head to see what car the Granger's drove. Harry was pleased to see that the Granger's navy blue sports car was much fancier than Uncle Vernon's company car. Harry could nearly see Uncle Vernon's thoughts as though they were written out in front of him; "They're wizards and they drive a nice car? That doesn't seem right…"   
"Well, shall we go, then?" Harry asked, breaking the awkward silence.   
"All right," Hermione replied. Harry stepped out onto the porch with her. "Um, bye?" she said to the Dursleys, but they just gave her icy stares. Harry and Hermioneran down the path toward the driveway after the Dursleys shut the door in their face.  
"Not very friendly, are they?" Hermione muttered irritably as they climbed into the backseat of Mr. Granger's car.   
"Nope," Harry replied honestly.  
"Mum, Dad," said Hermione as they pulled out of number four's driveway, "This is Harry Potter. Harry, these are my parents." The Granger's gave a much warmer welcome than the Dursley's. They asked him how he was, (Okay) how his schoolwork was coming, (Ummm…) how his family was, (They're in shock) and they were very polite. They small talked their way to Hermione's house, then they pulled into the driveway of number seven, Brookfeild Lane.   
It was a beautiful house, with a brick front and two large, white pillars. Flowers were overflowing from the garden in the front yard, and the lawn was every gardener's idea of perfection. Harry vaguely wondered of house elves mowed this lawn, but then he remembered Hermione's feelings about house elves.   
"Wow," said Harry, for lack of something better to say. Mr. Granger grinned.   
"Do you like it?" he asked.  
"Yes, very much,"  
"We'll get your things," said Mrs. Granger, "Hermione, why don't show him around?"  
Hermione led Harry up the walkway, on the porch, and through the large, white, double doors. They were in a hallway, to the right was a fair sized room with a sound system, a piano, and a guitar. To his left was another room with a big screen tv, several sofas, and the fireplace. In front of him were the stairs, winding toward the second floor.  
Harry followed Hermione up the stairs.  
"That's the computer room," she said, pointing, "And the room next to that's mine. There's the bathroom, and that room at the end of the hall is yours." Hermione led him to his room, pointing out her parent's room (to the right of Harry's) as they passed it.  
Harry's room was good sized, with a full sized bed, desk and mirror. It was, to Hermione's great embarrassment, painted pink. Harry really didn't mind, though. They went back to Hermione's room (painted sea green) and talked.   
Harry knew that what they were really trying to do was get their minds off Ron. They talked about their adventure's at Hogwarts, carefully leaving the details of Ron's part in these escapades out. They talked about Sirius, Harry's godfather who was on the run for murders he didn't commit. They had a long discussion about the Triwizard Tournament three years ago.  
"Yeah, remember how shocked every one was when Dumbledore told us that the tournament would take place after thousands of years?"  
"Of course!" Harry replied enthusiastically. He had carefully been avoiding mentioning Cedric. "Remember how hard Fred and George tried to enter? And Ron wa sall for it, he…" Harry stopped, realizing that he was bringing up the subject that they had so carefully avoided. The both dropped the cheery charade.  
"Don't worry, Harry," Hermione said quietly, "We'll find him."  
"Yeah, I hope so,"   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. The Mystery Girl

Chapter 3:   
Ron's Plight  
  
Ronald Weasley trudged through the field. He had left for a few hours, just a few hours! He had just wanted to cool off after that fight with Ginny. How could he have gotten lost?  
Ron looked up. At the end of the field was an everlasting line of trees. He decided that he'd sleep under those trees, but he had to get their first.   
He pulled some of the raspberries he had picked earlier out of his pocket, and gobbled them up. Ron had never really known what hunger was until now. He vowed that when he got back to civilization he would never say he was starving.  
Ron thought about his family. Were they okay? Were they even worried? He thought about Ginny the most. They had been having a stupid fight; one of those where you by the time it's over you've forgotten what it was about. So he had left the house to cool off.  
One of the things he pondered about the most was why he hadn't brought his wand. He would've been allowed to use magic under these circumstances. Ron sighed and continued towards the woods.  
* * *   
  
It was late and the afternoon, the sun would soon set on Ron's left. He had no idea which way the Burrow was, so he just kept going this was, hoping to find another wizard.  
Ron was at the edge of the forest by then, resting and wondering what he was going to eat for dinner. What wouldn't I give for Mum's fried chicken? He thought. How many days had it been since he had decent, cooked food? Three days? Four? Five? He had lost count. He hadn't had food fit for a human since breakfast the day he left.  
The sound of running water reached his ears. Ron jumped up. Clean water had become a luxury, so he was willing go investigate any lake, pond, stream, creek, river, or other body of water. He ran in the direction of that refreshing sound.  
In a large clearing Ron came upon a beautiful sight. A fresh, babbling brook flowed through, with wildflowers growing from the banks. Wild raspberries, blueberries, and grape vines. Ron went for the berries, then for the brook. He finished when he was completely full (a wonderful feeling, finally decent food!) which took until twilight had come and gone and night had settled.  
Ron left the clearing for a little while, trying to find a good place to sleep. He didn't want to go too far away, because he wanted to come back for breakfast.  
He had found a narrow opening in the trees, which he could walk through, it was almost like a path. The vines had been chopped and the weeds had been removed from the ground, which looked as if it had been worn by feet.  
Very abruptly, Ron halted. He sensed that someone or something was watching him. He glanced around him, but nothing moved or made a sound. He walked forward a few more paces.   
Suddenly something jumped from the trees in front of him. It landed, crouched, the slowly rose, forming the shape of a person. A cloud moved from in front of the moon, and Ron saw what was blocking his path.   
A beautiful girl about his age was staring back at him. She had wavy gold hair that went all the way down to her ankles. She was dressed in a flowing white dress that fluttered in the breeze, but it was her eyes that captivated Ron, They were a clear, icy blue. Looking into their infinite depths was like looking into a very deep, crystal clear pond. Now Ron understood why one's eyes are considered to be the window to the soul.  
"Hello," said Ron stupidly.   
"Are you a-a human?" she asked in a breathless voice. What kind of a question was that? Unless, of course, she was some rare kind of vela.   
"Yes, why, aren't you?" Ron asked in the same stupid sounding voice. The girl shook her head. Then she took the right side of her hair and lifted it back slightly, revealing her right ear. The top was long and pointed. The whole ear was slightly larger than any human ear. Ron should've known it was too good to be true.  
* * *  
Ginny sat up in bed, just having awoken from a very vivid dream in which she had seen Ron in a forest. Ginny wasn't sure how she knew that it was Ron and not one of her other brothers, she just knew. She turned over, remembering the dream.  
"Ron," Ginny muttered, "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Best Friends

Chapter 4:  
Two Best Friends   
  
Harry spent his week at Hermione's house doing things he had never done before. They had, as she called it "Muggle fun." They went to a concert, and then to the movies.  
Harry enjoyed the zoo the most. Hermione dragged him to the snakes and had him interpret everything they said.  
Harry also noticed more about Hermione. He realized that she was a lot of fun. (He had always viewed her as much less fun than his other best friend.) She could be a normal eighteen-year-old girl when she wanted to. It was unbelievable that she had only ever had one boyfriend.  
Harry would've been in heaven if only Ron were there. All through the week Ron had been on the back of his mind, coming forward when he tried to fall asleep. He knew Hermione felt the same way.  
Why does something awful happen to everyone I care about? Harry thought angrily, as he tossed and turned. School would be starting in three days, but Ron was still missing. He wondered if Hermione noticed how upset he was.  
And why did everything come back to Hermione? True, Hermione was one of his best friends, but still...he didn't get it. It wasn't until the night before school started that the truth hit him with full force.   
Harry had been lying awake puzzling the mystery of his two best friends, when he gasped and sat up in bed. He had finally found out why Hermione was such a major factor; his feelings toward her had grown. This was the same way he had felt about Cho-before she dumped him.  
"You don't have a crush on Hermione." He told himself aloud, but it was useless. "This must be a temporary moment of insanity," he muttered.  
Harry lay back down, now thinking about Ron and Hermione. He remembered when the two of them had been going out last year. That pang of sadness had to be that Ron was gone, not that he had gone out with Hermione, right?   
Harry blinked back tears. This, on top of Ron's disappearance, was too much. Harry told himself that he was eighteen, to old to cry. His emotions, however, overtook his reason. He buried his head into his pillow and cried.  
* * *  
The next morning Harry didn't feel any better. He didn't cry, (he had never let anyone see him cry) but he walked around like a zombie. Unlike the previous night, however, he was much more upset about Ron than his new found crush on Hermione, although it was still there, nagging on the back of his brain.  
Hermione was acting in an almost identical manner. She walked around, occasionally bumping into things into plain view. She even forgot to polish her Head Girl badge, a ceremony she had preformed every morning since the owl from Hogwarts that brought it.  
The ride to King's Cross was an uncomfortable and, at least between Harry and Hermione, silent affair. The Granger's occasionally made brave attempts at conversation, but Harry and Hermione replied in the shortest possible answers, and sometimes not at all. Eventually they gave up and talked to each other about the fine art of dentistry.  
Harry stared out the window. The weather had committed a horrible sin by being absolutely wonderful. The sun in the clear blue sky sent rays of golden light to earth, making the would-be-not-so-great scenery breathtaking. Harry felt that he would make a large and terrible thunderstorm if he could.   
Platform 93/4 was packed with happy, chattering students. Harry stared at them, wondering how on earth they could be happy. How dare they be in a good mood!  
Harry and Hermione found an empty compartment and lugged their trunks into it. No one bothered them, all their friends knew about Ron, and left them alone.  
As the train started to move Harry looked out the window again at the depressingly bright and sunny day. "Just like the day I got Ginny's letter," Harry thought miserably. He glanced over at Hermione.  
His heart went out to her when he saw that she looked how he felt. She was staring at her shoes, and Harry noticed a wet spot on the ground. He looked at her face, and was surprised to see that it was glistening with tears. She was silent, and if Harry hadn't looked he would've never known she had been crying. Harry decided that he would have to be optimistic, for Hermione's sake. He walked across the compartment and sat down next to her.  
"Hey," he said gently. "It's okay." She looked up at him and for a moment that lasted an eternity she melted into his eyes, as if it would bring Ron back. Then she broke down completely, sobbing on Harry's shoulder.  



	5. Meeting Snuffles

Chapter Five:  
Meeting Snuffles  
  
Ron felt so stupid. He should've known that humans weren't roaming the roads at night. Still, this one didn't seem too bad. Maybe she could offer him some place to sleep.  
"I'm lost," he said in a pleading. "Can you help me?"  
"I would," she said sadly, shaking her beautiful head. "But few humans know the truth about the only truthful human I know. He's a good man, but he was framed for murder."  
"Why that almost sounds like Sirius..." Ron muttered.  
"You know the truth, then?" She said, her face lighting up like a child on Christmas day. Ron jumped back in surprise.   
"Sirius is your friend?" he asked in disbelief.  
"Wait a moment..." said the girl slowly. "To know you'd have to be Harry Potter or Ronald Weasley, because you're not a girl or an old man."   
"I'm Ron," Ron explained. "It is Sirius, then? Well, he'd help me, I know Wormtail committed those murders."   
"Let me make sure," she said cautiously. She let out a whistle so shrill and high-pitched that Ron couldn't hear it after a moment.   
A large black dog came hurdling through the woods, toward the whistle. It stopped when it reached the girl.   
"Snuffles!" Ron yelled, grinning. Then a man appeared where the where the dog had been standing.   
"Ron!" Sirius exclaimed, grinning back. He shook Ron's hand as if they were father and son.  
"What are you doing here!?" they both exclaimed at the same time.  
"I've been hiding here for two years," Sirius replied. "They're not anything like the stories," he added, pointing to the girl. "They're just like us, basically. Besides, you should here the stories they have about us."   
"I'm lost," Ron said, "I got in a fight and stormed out like an idiot."  
"Well," Sirius said to the girl, "Shall we take him back to the castle, then?"  
"Hogwarts?" Ron interrupted hopefully.  
"No," said the girl, "My home."  
"You live in a castle?" Ron replied in awe.  
"She's their princess." Said Sirius chuckling.  
"I'm being silly," the girl said, "I haven't introduced myself. Princess Harmony of Marigold, only child of King Shernia." She curtsied deeply upon saying this. Then she popped back up and became informal once more. "But just call me Harmony, leave out all the other crap." She lipped her hand into his. " C'mon let's go!"   
As the trio made their way back through the forest, Ron and Harmony got to know each other. Ron and Sirius told her the thrilling story of that fateful night four years ago, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione discovered Sirius. (Harmony had heard it from Sirius, but it was more interesting from both points of view.) She was a very good audience, shrieking, gasping and giggling in all the right places.   
Harmony's laugh sounded to Ron as if it were straight out of heaven. It made her already extraordinary eyes sparkle and dance. Ron thought she must have been named after her musical giggle.   
As they rounded another corner Ron's jaw dropped, and he forgot for a moment about Harmony and her wonderful laugh. A large combination of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade lay out before him. He never knew they lived the same way humans did. At the far end of this strange town was a duplicate of Hogwarts. For someone to live in...it was amazing.   
"Welcome to Marigold."  
  
Hermione continued to cry for nearly twenty minutes before her tears finally subsided. She looked up at Harry, with a pleading look in her cinnamon eyes. Her eyes begged for comfort, security, and Ron. If Harry, Hermione and Ron had not been the best of friends Harry might have been jealous.  
"It'll be okay. Ron's okay." Said Harry, trying to convince himself as well as Hermione. She nodded and fell back in her seat. The two of them talked. They talked about homework, weather, Muggle music-anything to keep their minds off of Ron.  
Later that afternoon Ginny came into the compartment. She looked dead. Her motions were robotic and lacking her usual love of life.   
"There'll be a service for Ron if...if..." A single tear slipped down Ginny's face, the only sign that she had any human emotion left.   
Harry and Hermione spent the rest of the ride reading The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Seven.  
They didn't even react when Malfoy, Harry's archenemy, showed up to torment them. He quickly got bored and left.   
When Hogsmeade came into view Hermione began sobbing again.  
"It's not right!" she cried. "How does Ron being gone help anybody!?" Harry gave her a hug and did something that surprised him more than her.   
Harry kissed Hermione.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	6. Carrot Top

Chapter Six  
Carrot Top  
  
The world around Harry melted as he held Hermione. The kiss beecaame more and more intense, then suddenly it stopped, bringing him back to the train. As they broke apart he tried to maintain his balance. He had never been kissed like that before.  
"Harry-" Hermione began.  
"I know, I'm sorry," Harry said miserably. "I didn't mean to, I just...just...like you." he finished in a defeated voice.  
"Harry, I like you too," Hermione said, "A lot. I've liked you for years. I'd wouldn't mind if we were, you know, going together, I guess. I just can't stop thinking about Ron, but not in that way. You're always on my mind." Harry half smiled, then (to Hermione's great surprise) he grinned.   
"Well, Ron wouldn't want us apart for him. At least he was trying to hook us up before you guys weent out. What do you say Hermione? Shall we gave Witch's Weekly something to talk about?" Hermione smiled for the First time that day, took Harry's hand, and they headed toward the coaches.  
* * *  
Ron gaped at the city before him. He thought they were primitive!   
"What did I tell you. Sirius asked grinning. "You should see it in the day, everyones at home by now." As they started walking through Marigold, Ron remebered something.   
"Sirus, you've been getting Harry's letters, right?" Sirius nodded. "Well then, why haven't you written back? Harry hasn't a letter from you since fifth year, and he was beginning think something really awful had happened..." Ron let the sentence hang and Sirius sighed.  
"It's the law around here." he answered.  
"You're-"  
"Contact with humans is strictly forbidden." said Harmony. "Unless, of coarse, the human is accepted."  
"You mean-"   
"Yes, I'm breaking the law. Sirius has already been accepted."  
"What do I have to do te be, er, accepted?"  
"Well, you have to pass a series of tests." Sirius got rather uneasy at Harmony's words. "You could do it, you've already passed one."  
"I have?" Ron asked in confused disbelief.  
"You're not Dark," she explained. "Honestly, I'm the only one in Marrigold who realizes that not all human wizards are Dark. Anyway, I tell my dad that, he looks you over, and you take on some challenges." She made it sound very simple. "It only takes about half a moon."  
"Moon?" Ron asked, more confused than ever.  
"It's about a month," Sirius clarified. "Their calendar is based on nature; day, moon, star."  
"Star?"  
"A year. See, it takes one year for the earth to rotate until a certian star is in the same place in relation to the city it was. Understand?"  
"I guess...Speaking of time, what's the date?"  
"Date?" Harmony asked while Sirius chuckled.  
"They don't use our system, Ron! I'd tell you, but I lost track a long time ago. I would guess that it's September, but to go into any further detail would be dangerous." September? That meant school was starting...  
"If I get accepted, does that mean I can't send an owl to Harry or Hermione?"  
"Yes," said Sirius sadly.  
"I've been trying to get that law abolished." said Harmony. "Along with the 'No Human Contact' law. With two decent and accepted humans to show, it shoudn't be too difficult." By then they had reached the castle. They walked through the huge oak doors.   
They were in a huge stone hallway with rooms and staairways branching off, just like the entrance hall. The entire laywout was strangely like Hogwarts.   
"That's the main dining hall, it can also be used as a ballroom." said Harmony, pointing to the double doors on her left. Ron immediatly noticed that the room was exactly were the Great Hall would've been if they were at Hogwarts. He raised his eyebrows at Sirius, who nodded.  
A breif tour proved Ron's theory correct. This was Hogwarts with bedrooms instead of classrooms. And also without Harry or Hermione. Ron felt homesick for them, especially in a castle nearly identical to the one in which they had been such good friends.  
Ron's room didn't help, it was placed where the Gryffindor common room was. Sirius laughed out loud at this, but quickly developed a hacking cough at Harmony's quizzical look. They left, leaving Ron feeling more alone than ever.  
* * *  
Harry and Hermione pretended to enjoy the feast. They talked, but didn't laugh. They participated, but didn't want to. Finally the food was gone and Dumbledore stood up to make some last minute announcements.   
"Welcome to Hogwarts," He said, smiling warmly. "May I just remind you of a couple things before you go up to bed. Absolutely NO turning teachers into toads-"   
The hall erupted with laughter. Hermione and Harry couln't help but join in, remembering their last day of fifth year. The Weasley (Ron's older brothers) had turned Snape into a particularly warty toad. Even Ginny managed a smile. Snape, on the other hand, looked ready for murder.   
"The Forbidden Forest is off limits. No magic on the corridors, and also..." Dumbledore rambled on animatedly before he caught Harry's attention again.  
"Now I must address a very serious matter." said Dumbledore, suddenly looking very solomn indeed. "One of our students, a Gryffindor by the name of Ron Weasley, has gone missing. If anyone knows anything about his wherabouts, come see me immediatly." He looked around the hall, then smiled. "Now off to bed."   
Harry and Hermione got up to lead the first years to the Gryffindor Tower. Hermione let out a small sob.  
"What?" Harry asked with concern on his face.   
"The new password's 'carrot top'." Harry remembered this as Hermione's pet name for Ron. He put his arm around her and they went up to the common room, then to their seperate dorms. Both were thinking about their red headed friend.  
  
  



	7. Marigold

Chapter Seven:  
Marigold  
  
The next morning Ron woke up, blinked, and screamed. Then he remebered the previous night and quickly shut up. He was pondering whether or not he should walk into breakfast like he owned the place, when Sirius burst in.   
"Rise and shine!" He said. "Come on, put this on." He threw some clean robes at Ron. Just like the Hogwarts robes Ron thought sadly.  
"Why are you looking so down?" Sirius asked.  
"Just miss 'em, I guess..." Ron let his sentence hang, and Sirius knew what he meant. "What're we doing today?" Ron asked, quick to change the subject.  
"Well, you have to meet Harmony's father. Then we're taking a tour of the city, and then you have to go see the King again so he can make his ruling."  
"I have to see him twice?"  
"Well, once to look you over, and once to decide whether or not you should be tested. The second time you'll be with the Council, you know, dukes and the like."  
Ron was a little nervous about the King, but the thought of touring the city put him at ease. He was really looking forward to it.   
"All right, let's go!"  
  
"Well, that went better than I thought it would," Ron said as he and Harmony came out of the throne room. She let out a melodius giggle.  
"Father definatly likes you," she said confidently. "He'll probably begin the testing after he sees you loter with The Council." Ron remembered that he had to go see the King again, in front of Dukes and Earls, but he wasn't scared. He was as fond of the King as the King was of him. He was a jolly man, like a non-beared Dumbledore. Ron could tell Harmony got her carefree spirit from him. As the approached the courtyard he heard Sirius.  
"Are you to coming or not?" he called. They rounded a corner, and Ron stopped dead. Sirius was comfortably sitting on what was unmistakably a large, Persian flying carpet. Seeing his shock, Sirius grinned.  
"I-I thought those were banned as Muggle objects. My dad-"  
"You're dad works at the human Ministry of Magic," Sirius replied. "They have no say here. Don't worry, these carpets aren't form Ali Bashir."  
Ron cautiosly sat on the clorful hovering rug, as if it wouldn't sustian his weight. Harmony grinned evily, winked at Sirius, and jumped onto the carpet, landing hard and scaring Ron out of his wits.   
"Don't do that, please!" He begged.She laughed, and the carpet soared into the heart of Marigold. The main road was a strange, almost Diagon Alley like street. People were ealking around idly just enjoying the day. The main transportation seemed to be...flying carpets! None were as large as theirs, though.  
The other people left a path wide enough to get through, but not an empty street or anything. The people were quite used to Harmony being in their midst. When she had first come to town she had been treated like a goddess, stopping traffing, blowing trumpets, and bowing. This was still used for formal occasions, of course, but Harmony's requests and frequent visits had caused them to treat her as one of them-almost. A princess is still a princess.  
They landed at Iris's Incredible Ice Cream for a snack.   
"What flavor do you want?" Harmony asked as their carpet started slowing down.  
"Do they have mint chocolate chip?" Ron replied hopefully.  
"Of course, that's my favorite!" Harmony exclaimed.  
"Mine too..." Ron remembered how once Harry had swiped some ice cream from the kitchens. (Ron had a detention at the time.) He had brought back strawberry, Ron's least favorite flavor. It was strange, this girl he hardly knew paid attention to what kind of ice cream he liked.  
"Well, just get me plain chocolate, that's the best." Sirius said.  
Harmony returned with two mint ice cream cones and one chocolate. She got back on the carpet and they headed toward the joke shop. Ron could tell it was going to a fun-filled day. He grinned broadly. If only Harry and Hermione were there...  
  
He was in a woods...the forest? He came upon a large castle surrounded by a city. Carpets! There were flying carpets! One was coming toward him! Who was it? Ron! Wait, no, not just Ron...a girl with long blonde hair.   
"Ron!" He screamed, but no sound came out.  
"Who's that?" The girl asked Ron.  
"I don't know." Ron replied. It couldn't be true...  
"Rooooooooon!"  
Harry awoke with a start. It was a dream...just a dream! Harry let out a long breath. He opened his curtains and instinctively looked over at Ron's bed. Then he got up to meet Hermione for breakfast.  
Breakfast was uncomfortable. It just wasn't the same without Ron there. It didn't help that people kept coming up to Harry and Hermione asking if they were a couple.   
"YES!" Harry finally screamed when this question was asked by a Hufflepuff fifth year. (It was question #17.)  
"And if you've got a problem with it I'll-" But Harry's words were drowned out by the coming of the mail. Harry watched as a tawny owl brought Hermione The Daily Prophet. Harry saw the headline, then spit out his pumpkin juice in surprise.   
  
Hogwarts Seventh Year Missing  
Ron Weasley, son of Arthur Weasley (heads of the misuse of Muggle Artifacts office) and Gryffindor seventh year, hasn't been seen for ten days. You may remember him as being Harry Potter's best friend, or from the flying car incident covered by Rita Skeeter several years back. If anyone has seen a tall, red-haired 17-year-old boy, please contact Mr. and/or Mrs. Weasley by owl post.   
Ron was last seen wearing a green...  
  
The article went on and on, but Harry couldn't  
read anymore. This must be some horrible nightmare! He glanced at Hermione. She was blinking like mad to keep the tears back. He put a comforting around her, oblivous to the whispers this sent around the hall like a shockwave. He wouldn't have cared even if he had noticed.  
"Schedules," Said Hermione softly, pointing out Professor McGonagall, who was headed their way with a bundle of papers.   
"Seventh years!" She announced in her usual strict voice. Harry took a schedule, looked it over, and almost spit out his pumpkin juice again.   
"This can't be right..." Hermione muttered.  
"Are you sure these are seventh year schedules?" Harry asked, but Professor McGonagall didn't hear him. Harry returned to staring at his schedule, especially Thursday.  
At ten o'clock in the morning on Thursdays, the Gryffindor seventh years had potions, but that wasn't what was strange. For the first time since coming to Hogwarts, Harry didn't have potions with the Slytherins and Draco Malfoy.   
Harry didn't know whether to cry or get on his knees and thank the Lord. Undoubtedly, no longer being with the Slytherins would mean impossible-to-do work. On the other hand, not being with Malfoy&Co. was worth it. On the other hand, he would probably fail potions. On the other hand, who cares? Snape would probably fail him anyway. On the other hand...there was no other hand.  
"Ron would be thrilled," said Hermione softly. Harry looked over at her sympathetically.  
"Come on," he said. "Herbology in Greenhouse 5 first."  
  
  
"Impossible," He muttered to himself. He looked back into the pond. There she was, that stupid wood girl who would be his end. How had another one found her? Together they could finish him off by the end of the year.  
"No they won't!" He said furiously to no one in particular.   
"No one can beat Lord Voldemort, especially some teenage brats." He took a pebble and threw it into the tiny pond, making the picture of the happy teens disappear.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. Friends, Enemies, and Winklemires

Chapter 8:  
Friends, Enemies, and Winklemire's  
  
Harry and Hermione went to Herbology, still with the Hufflepuffs. The class was much quieter than usual. All present had known Ron well. The whole Gryffindor group hardly said anything but "Pass me the shovel."  
When Professor Sprout had called out roll call and got to the last name, Weasley, Ronald, everyone bowed their heads and blinked back tears.  
However, as the class went on, they loosened up. Although still strangely formal, they still seemed normal enough to ask Harry if he was really going out with Hermione. At least, the Hufflepuffs did. The Gryffindors, especially the boys, seemed to think that bothering Harry at the time was a bad idea. They were right, as the Hufflepuffs soon found out.   
"Sorry about Ron," Said Ernie McMillan. "But now you've got a girlfriend instead!" Ernie shrank back at the look of icy venom Harry gave him.  
Harry stared out the window, thinking that Ron wouldn't be there for their first Hogsmeade trip. Fred and George were holding the grand opening of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.   
Little did Harry know that not too far away, in the city of Marigold, Ron was at a joke shop, having a ball.   
  
  
"Oooh, what are these?" Ron asked enthusiastically. Harmony grinned, but Sirius grinned broader.   
"These," He announced, "are exploding cheese balls! When someone touches them after they come out of that box, they let out a bang and a cloud of blue smoke."  
"Sirius set a bunch of those out at the last royal banquet," Said Harmony, rolling her eyes. They all started laughing. They were still chuckling as they left, carrying two large sacks of various troublemaking gadgets that Fred and George would have loved.  
"That's it!" Ron declared as the carpet started rising. "I'm going to be accepted! There's just one problem. Wouldn't I need a wand for these so-called 'tests'?"  
"Well, duh!" Exclaimed Harmony. "I forgot! All right, to Winklemire's!"  
"Winklemire's?" Ron asked with a quizzical look at Sirius.   
"It's the wand shop, like Ollivander's at Diagon Alley. Except Miss Winklemire is much nicer and less creepy than Mr. Ollivander," Sirius explained.   
"I keep forgetting you've never been here," Said Harmony. The carpet slowed in front of a small shop with the words "Winklemire's Wands since 1274" sparkling in the window.   
As the trio walked into the wand shop, a woman walked into the front room. Ron's stomach gave a funny jolt, this lady reminded him of his mother.   
"Good day, your majesty," She said warmly. "What can I do for you?"  
"Hello. This young man needs a decent wand," Harmony replied, gesturing to Ron.   
"Oh, is this your new human friend I've heard about?"  
"Does news travel that fast?" Harmony asked exasperatedly, but Miss Winklemire wasn't listening. Instead she was measuring Ron's height, arm span, arm length, tooth length, and other lengths Ron didn't know he had.   
Finally she grabbed a wand and handed it to him.  
"Give it a wave!" She urged. Ron whirled the wand, sending gold and black sparks through the shop.   
"Hmm, strange." Miss Winklemire said.   
"What's strange?" Harmony inquired. "You've always been right on your first try. Winklemire's is famous for it!"  
"I know," Said Miss Winklemire. "Do you remember your wand, princess?"  
"Of course!" She exclaimed. "Beech, eleven inches, dragon heartstring, and centaur mane! So?"  
"Do you remember what was so peculiar about your wand?"  
Harmony rolled her eyes at this question. "Only two wands have been made in the last century containing centaur mane, and I bought one of them."  
"Sir," Said Miss Winklemire, turning to Ron. "Your wand is oak, thirteen inches, unicorn tail, and centaur mane."  
"Wait a second!" Said Harmony. "He has the other wand?"   
Miss Winklemire nodded her head.   
"Well, Ron, I guess we have more in common than we thought,"   
"But Harry and You-Know-Who have-" Ron began.  
"Voldemort?" Asked Harmony. Ron flinched, but for once he was in the minority.   
"Of course! What'd you say his bloody name for?"   
"Ron," Said Sirius. "Everyone says Voldemort's name properly here. Get used to it.""Well, they both have wands containing one feather from the same phoenix. The wands went berserk while they were dueling each other."  
"I highly doubt you two will be dueling," Said Miss Winklemire."But it wouldn't matter anyway. They're not from the same centuar."  
"Oh, good," Ron replied. They walked out of Winklemire's and into the sunshine.  
"Uh oh..." Sirius muttered.  
"What?" Ron and Harmony asked in unison.  
"Drep at 4:00."  
"Well, well, well," Came a peircing voice. Ron spun around. There was a boy around nineteen standing there. He had long brown hair and black eyes. He was good looking, but he reminded Ron of another archenemy, Draco Malfoy.  
"Hello Your Majesty," The boy said, bowing sarcastically. "Is this your new boyfriend? My, my, I knew you weren't fit for royalty, but I never thought you would sink so low as to date a human." Ron's face matche his hair by now, but Harmony reminded admiringly calm.   
"Just because I won't date you, Drep, gives you no right to criticize my freind. Father will agree that his acceptance testing is to begin as soon as possible when the Council sees him. " Harmony said this in a voice that reminded Ron that she was a princess. The guy, 'Drep' as they called him, turned slightly pink and left.   
"Who was that?" Ron asked as the carpet headed back to the castle.  
"Celvin Drep," Harmony replied, rolling her eyes agian. "He's Sir Drep's son."  
"Sir Drep?"  
"One of the dukes," Said Sirius. "He's just like his son. I don't see how the king can trust either one of them."   
"I turned Drep Jr. down for a dance at a ball, and he's been mad about it ever since." Harmony shook her head. "He only asked because he wants to marry me. And he only wants to marry me because then he would be next in line to be king. I can't stand him."  
They walked into the castle, still talking about Drep. As they approached what would've been the gargole into Professor Dumbledore's office Ron remembered with a stab fo fear what lie ahead of him. The King was okay alone, but with the Council...Ron couldn't be sure.   
Harmony shushed them.  
"Sirius, you stay here," she instructed.  
"Why?" he replied indignintly.  
"Sirius!" Harmony said with exasperation. "He's meeting with the Council now, remember? We must act proper."  
Well, Princess," Sirius retorted, trying not to laugh. "You would lookmore proper in your 'royal robes'."  
"Oh, yeah," she said, blushing. She took out her wand and muttered a few words under her breath. Instantly she was wearing long royal blue robes made of the same flowing material she had been wearing the previous night, A floor lenght deep purple cloak was draped over her shoulders, beautifully contrasting with her suddenly perfectly combed and arranged vivid gold hair. A three point crown (one large point in between two smaller points) carved frjjom turqiuse was perfectly situated on her head so that the largest point linde up with her nose. Although only the front of the crown was visible, Ron knew a band of turquise surrounded her head under her hair. In the center of the largest point was a single, large oval crystal that sent rainbows through the air when the light through the window hit it in just the right way. She looked magnificent.  
"What are you gaping at?" Harmony asked Ron while Sirius sniggered at his reaction.  
"You...um...look...uh...er...great..." Ron stammered. Sirius couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing.  
"Put your eyes back in," Harmony snapped, causing Sirius to laugh even harder. "Here, let's make you look high class." She waved her wand and Ron's robes became jungle green, a very good color on him. His hair was automatically tamed, and he felt like he had just stepped out of the shower.  
"Are you ready for this?" she asked him.  
"I'm ready.  



	9. The King's Decision

Chapter Nine  
The King's Decision  
  
Ron took a deep breath, then followed Harmony into the Throne Room for the second time that day.   
There was tension in the air. It seemed much more intimdating than it had this morning. It no longer had that warm, welcoming feel.  
Harmony swept in with the gracew of the princess she was. She walked up to the king, curtsied, and looked her father in the eye.  
"Father," she said, loudly, clearly, as though making sure everyone present understood every word she spoke. It was the same regal tone she had used when speaking to Drep. "I have some very important business to present to you."   
"Proceed." The King was speaking in the same superior voice. It made him much less jolly and much more intimidating.  
"Both you and I have looked this human over. He is not a Dark wizard, nor a Muggle. He knows, and is good friends with, Sirius Black, a well respected human citizen of our fair city. There is no reason he cannot be accepted, our people like him and he likes our people. There is no reason he cannot be accepted with the exception of the childish prejudice against his kind. He has humbly requested that the testing start as soon as possible." As Harmony spoke her royal superiority radiated from her like a visible aura. The king as well, without speaking a word, made it very clear that he could have anyone of them executed with a snap of his fingers.   
"Let me speak to my advisers about it." He motioned his council to a chamber off the hall and slammed the door once they were all inside. Ron let out a long breath and nearly collapsed onto the red velvet rug. Harmony started giggling.  
"Typical," She said between giggles. "He had to make it look like he was debating it. For the counil's sake he had to be 'royal'. Puh-lease, as if! At least he hound a way to let us let out the laughter."  
"You mean...he's already decided?" Ron asked uneasily.  
"Calm down, Ron!" She said. "He decided the moment he saw you." Now Ron laughed. But he quickly straightened up as the King reentered the room and sat back down on his intricatly carved wooden throne.   
"I have made my decision." He made a point not to say 'we' have, 'our' decision. "The testing will commence tommorrow. Dismissed." Harmony cutsied again, then turned and marched to the door in a dignified manner, Ron trotting at her heels.  
They came out of the Throne Room to find Sirius was still laughing hysterically.  
"Honestly!" Harmony exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. "We couln't have been that amusing!"  
"No, no, no," Sirius gasped between chuckles. "Your humming bird friend, Twirk or whatever, showed up. He told me the most hilarious joke about a pig, a veela, and a basilisk, who all fo into a bar--"  
"Wait a second," Ron interrupted loudly. "A HUMMING BIRD told you?!?!?!"   
"Didn't you know?" Harmony asked in surprise. "One of our traits is that we can understand and communicate with animals."   
"But...but..." Ron sputtered. "Sirius isn't one of you." Ron finished bluntly and somewhat rudely.  
"Ron," Sirius expained. "After the acceptance you are given that prticular trait. You are especially fluent in a certian language. Mine is Dog, naturally."  
"Yes," Harmony agreed, nodding as if she approved of this explanation. "My language is Snake."  
"WHAT?!?!?!" Ron, who had been listining patiently, burst out. "SNAKE?!?! You mean, like, parseltoungue?"  
"Pasil...er...Patsil...uh...Parselwho?" Harmony asked in confusion.  
"That's what I said, too," Sirius told Ron. Then he turned to Harmony. "Being able to speak and understand Snake is a very rare, yet existant, human trait. To be one is to be a Parselmouth, and the langauge itself is Parlseltoungue. It's considered a Dark Art. The most infamous Parseltoungues were Salazar Slytherin himself," Here Harmony looked away, but neither Ron nor Sirius noticed. "Harry's a Parseltoungue too." Sirius added as an afterthought.   
"Harry Potter? He's not Dark!"  
"I know," Sirius replied. "But when Voldemort tried to kill Harry, that trait was transferred between them." Ron sighed.  
"How do I become friends with all these snake people?" he asked more to himself than to either of his companions.  
"You might be able to choose what language you specialize in." Said Sirius thoughtfully. " You could choose Snake."   
"One question; Why in the hell would I choose Snake?"  
"Well, I thought that should be obvious. When you go back to Hogwarts you and Harry will be able to speak a language no one else could understand."  
"Did you get to choose your language?"  
"No," Harmony answered. "We are born with whatever, and Sirius could already speak Dog technically, being an animagus of a Grim and all. You probably won't get to choose, anyway. You get whatever suits you, just like the your animagus and patronus forms. For us they're all the same." Harmony seemed to be considering something, but then she snapped back to reality. "Anyway, I think we should prepare you as much as possible for the tests." She continued in a business like tone.   
"How?" Ron asked blankly.  
"Just read everything you can in my library." She replied in a matter-of-fact tone, as if explaining to a 3 year old. Ron went slightly pink.  
"I'm not a big reader--"  
"Don't worry, Ron," Said Sirius, swallowing another outburst of laughter at this response. "Hardly any of it is in English. Most of it is in Snake, actually."   
"To my room!" Harmony shouted, pointing down a hall. She marched down that hallway, with Sirius and Ron in tow. She stopped outside the entrance of what would've been the astronamy classroom at the bottom of the South Tower.   
Ron remembered this room as large and circular, with a door oppisite of the one he was about to walk through. This door led to a spiral staircase, and as you can imagine, the staircase leading from the beginging to the top of the tallest tower was pretty long. The stairs opened up into a large balcony, where the students actually observed the stars.   
"Hisssssssss," Harmony whispered to the door. It swung open.  
"What did you say?" Ron asked.  
"Sparkly pencil," said Harmony, giggling at her ridiculus password. "Are you coming in or what?"  
Ron stepped in and blinked a couple times to make sure his eyes were working properly. It was the same room all right, but it was astronomically diffrent.  
In the center of it was a large lavender canopy bed. The walls were lined with exquisitly tailored gowns and robes. Off to the side was what appeared to be a giant glass display case holding dozens of crowns of varying size and fanciness. There was a large mirror hanging above a desk that was clattered with books such as One Hundred Hairstyles that Only Need a Wand! and Redden Your Lips, Color Your Eyes, Give Your Face the Perfect Glow!.   
"So this is a princess's bedroom?" Ron asked in awe. Harmony and Sirius suddenly developed very bad coughs that sounded strangely like chuckles, but Ron chose to ignore it. "Anyway," He continued. "Where's this library of yours?"  
"Over here," She said, heading for the door that undoubtedly led to the stairway that, in turn, led to the top of the North Tower. Ron and Sirius followed her, then she opened the door. It was almost the same; just one minor difference. The walls were lined floor to ceiling with books.   
Harmony started climbing while Ron stared at the books. As many books as he could read she said? Impossible! These books were huge and abundant. He went cautiously to the first book and took it out, flipping through it. He couldn't even identify the language, let alone get something usefull out of it. He gave Harmony a quizzical look.  
"Zebra," Harmony explained. "They're in alphabetical order of language, A at the top, apparently. Then by author's last name."  
"Oh yeah...you can read animal language..." Ron said, giving the impression that he was very dense. Harmony rolled her eyes. She didn't seem to notice that Ron was still looking at the books rather apprehensively. Sirius, however, did.   
"Don't worry, hardly any of it is in English," He said, grinning. He seemed to be doing a lot of that Ron noticed. He made a mental note to tell Harry. "Most of it is in Snake, actually." Sirius continued. Ron shivered, and started up the staircase after taking a look at Harmony's impatiently tapping foot.  
When they were nearly to the top Harmony stopped abruptly. She gestured to a shelf of about ten books.   
"There you have it." She said. "My English books." Ron looked at her as if she were nuts.   
"That's it?"  
"Well, English is the main language spoken, but almost everything written is in...something else." Harmony replied thoughtfully. "I never really thought about it." She confessed, shrugging. After looking at the titles Ron chose six books and followed Harmony to the top.  
They suddenly stopped spiraling, (which was probably a good thing as Sirius was looking rather green) and they came up to the balcony. This too was extremely different from the observing balcony Ron remembered. A thin glass dome surrounded the balcony it, protecting it from the elements, but not at all harming the view. Luxurious looking silk covered benches with pillows and such. They looked like the pictures out of a Muggle book he had seen Hermione reading once; Egyption knights, or Arabian Solders, or something like that.  
"This is where I read." Harmony said. "Look, I have to go to talk to Dad, kay? See ya later!" She waved her wand and left a plate of sandwiches and a drink before she and Sirius left.   
Ron sighed and picked up the first book, this was not going easy.  
  
"Ron, RON! Wake up!" Harmony shook her red headed companoin until he woke up. The two of them, plus Sirius, ate a filling breakfast. Then Ron was taken outside to the two gaurds who would be escorting him to wherever these so called 'tests' would be taking place.   
Ron looked back to see Harmony, Sirius, and King Shinra waving goodbye. After a weak wave, he turned and faced forward, gulping. He had never been good at facing the unknown....  
  



	10. Of Guilt, Guts and Ron's Return Home

Chapter 10  
Of Guilt, Guts and Ron's Return Home  
  
  
Harry looked out the window of History of Magic Class. Of course, he wasn't playing the slightest attention to what Professor Binns was saying. Even Hermione didn't have the patience to listen to the boring ghost. She just sort of...stared.  
He had come to a conclusion. It was obvious that Ron's disappearence was the work of Voldemort, but why would he want Ron? Ron was Harry's best friend, that's why. It was all Harry's fault. Harry was beating himself up, and Hermione was his only comfort. But now he was afraid. If Harry had led Ron to being kidnapped, maybe Hermione was next.   
Before Harry had time to even consider this the bell thankfully rang. But the idea was still there, in the back of his mind...  
  
  
Harry wasn't the only one who blamed himself for Ron's disappearence. Ginny Weasley ran into the girls bathroom, crying. It was all her fault! She closed her eyes to try to make it all go away, but the scene replayed in her mind.   
  
~~~"Ginny, I don't know what you want from me!" Ron screamed.   
"I'll tell you what I want." Ginny snapped threateningly. "I want you out of my room, out of my house, and OUT OF MY LIFE!"   
"That can be arranged." Ron yelled. The back door slammed behind him...~~~  
  
Ginny snapped her eyes open. She had caused Ron to leave. It was that simple. She wept quietly for a moment before pulling herself together.   
"C'mon," She told herself. "I'll just go back to Transfiguration and ask for a new ball of yarn that's not maroon."   
It wasn't until she left that Hermione Granger stepped out of her stall.  
  
  
"Where have you been?" Harry asked Hermione as she slid into her seat for dinner a couple minutes late.   
"Bathroom." Hermione replied. "Look, I think something is really wrong with Ginny.   
"Why? I mean, why more today than yesterday?"  
"She was in the bathroom, crying and saying something about 'not maroon.' I'm really worried about her." Hermione bit her lip.   
"I have an idea..." Harry said.  
  
  
The Basilisk swallowed Ginny whole. It's poisoness green stood out against the fire and red rock which surrounded it. Voldemort laughed mercilessly.   
Hermione was suddenly in this hell, her wand poised. Before she had a chance to so much as react, the Cruciatus curse was sent her way. She lay, screaming as if she were dying, which she probably was.   
"Dessert?" Voldemort hissed to the giant serpent. Soon Hermione had followed Ginny's footsteps to death.  
"I will not let you get away with this." Harry said, raising his wand against his enemy.  
"I have waited long for this." Voldemort said, smiling. "Moltres." The spell sent white fire through Harry, almost as excruciating as the Cruciatus Cusre. Voldemort lifted the curse just before Harry ceased to be.   
"Avada Kedavra." He hissed, laughing as the green light of death killed the legendary Harry Potter. The poor man watched, helpless. Then Voldemort turned, headed his way.   
Yet, it was not the man to which he was headed. But who was left? The man watched in horror as Voldemort pulled out a silver dagger with emeralds in the hilt. He turned and saw Harmony trying desperatly to get away.  
"NOOOOOOOO!!" He yelled as Voldemort plunged the dagger through her heart. Blood, screams, horror, mortifying confusion--  
  
Ron sat straight up in bed panting, sweating, and covered in blood.  
  
  
Harmony was drinking hot chocolate and reading in her bedroom when Sirius came in and sat down. She smiled and set her book down. She waved her wand and produced a cup of hot chocolate for Sirius.   
"Hey, what's up?" She asked, looking at the very un-Sirius serious look on her friends face.   
"Harmony, you have to tell him." Sirius said quietly. Harmony's face hardened.   
"NO, Sirius. I want him to know me for who I am!" Harmony exclaimed, her eyes widened.   
"How can he get to know you if he doesn't even know your name?" Sirius asked angrily.   
"He does know my name." Harmony shot back defensively.  
"You know what I mean." Sirius replied, giving her a very hard, nearly paternal look. Harmony sighed.  
"I know, but...can't you just give me a little more time?" Harmony questioned.   
"It's up to you." Sirius answered, draining the rest of his hot chocolate and getting up to leave.   
"Just remember, he's going to find out eventually." He said as he shut the door.   
"Not if I can help it." Harmony whispered after him.   
  
  
"All right, people, settle down." Harry said. Ron's friends, and his sister, were sitting in a secluded corner in the Gryffindor common room. Harry cleared his throat and looked at Hermione nervously. She nodded encouragingly.  
"Okay, I have an idea. We have done nothing but think about Ron since the year started. And he...wouldn't like it. I thinnk we should just try to, uh, not talk about the subject. I'm not saying forget about him, just not let it completely ruin our year." He added quickly, seeing the looks he was being given. "We just need to, ya know...move on."   
The group started whispering, consulting with their neighbors on this new plan. Eventually there was a general murmer of agreement. With that they left, determined to follow this new plan of not mentioning Ron's name.   
"Don't worry, Harry," Hermione said, coming up behind him. "You did the right thing." Harry sighed.   
"Then why do I feel like I've betrayed him?" Harry asked.   
"C'mon, no more mentioning Ron, remember?" Hermione asked.  
"I don't know how!" Harry replied, frustrated.   
"Maybe I can help..." Hermione said, flashing him a devilish smile. She leaned over and kissed him.   
Harry closed his eyes, maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all...  
  
  
Ron walked into his bathroom and washed the blood and sweat away. He had been having dreams like this since he arrived here for the testing. They were like a parellel universe of his worst nightmares. Once he had been stabbed in a dream, and for the rest of the day he had the scar, which slowly ebbed away.   
The sun rose and Ron went out to the feild where, for the last two weeks, his fears had become realities. Had it only been two weeks? It seemed like an eternity, and his life was now forevermore split between his life before and after this horrific experience.   
Yet today hope seemed to sing in the clear blue skies. Testing was finished, the animal communication skills he needed would be granted to him, and later that afternoon he would be going back to Marigold. Thank God.   
"Mr. Weasley, I presume?" Came a voice from behind him. Ron whipped around in less than half a second and had his wand out. Over the last few weeks he had developed extremely fast reflexes.   
The voice belonged to a spindly old man. He reminded Ron of Mr. Crouch, except that Ron had never been happy to see Mr. Crouch.   
"That's me." Ron said. The man raised his gray eyebrows.   
"My name is Mr. Opture." He said. "I will be giving you your animal communication skills."   
"All righty then." Ron replied, anxious to get a move on so he could get back to Marigold. Mr. Opture raised his wand.  
"I'll be putting you into a dreamless sleep." He explained. "Serify."  
Ron knew nothing more for several hours.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
When Ron woke up the first thing he noticed was that he had been out cold several hours according to the position of the sun. The second thing he knew was how very uncomfortable his current position was.  
"You're awake now, I see." Mr. Opture said.   
"Yeah," Ron replied, getting to his feet.   
"Now whenever anybody, including an animal, speaks to you, you will speak it right back as if it were English." Mr. Opture explained.   
"What language are we speaking now?" Ron asked in earnest curiousity.   
"Flobberworm." He replied nonchalantly. Ron's eyes widened.  
"FLOBBERWORM?!?!?" Ron yelled. Mr. Opture looked slightly taken back.   
"It's the last language in the developement." Mr. Opture explained impatiently. "Now calm down so I can see what animal you identify with for your record!" Ron stopped yelling and stood still. "Laiceps," Mr. Opture hissed.   
"Okay then, say something." Mr. Opture said.  
"Like what?" Ron asked. Mr. Opture shook his head and sighed impatiently.   
"Not jibberish!" He said. "Just say say something normal.   
"I AM talking normally!" Ron explained desperatly. Mr. Opture was starting to look angry.  
"Look, I can't figure out what language you're talking if you talk like there's no spaces in between your words!" He yelled, very red in the face.   
"But I'm not." Ron said slowly trying not to panic. Mr. Opture, looking as if steam were going to come out of his ears, removed the spell.  
"If you MUST be so difficult I will just put 'unknown'" He said angrily.   
"But I wasn't doing anything!" Ron argued, just as heatedly.   
"NOW you decide to talk normally!" Mr. Opture said.   
"But--" Ron started, but at that moment Mr. Opture appartated away, leaving Ron to head back to Marigold with the two gaurds that came to take his place.   
  
  
  
Harmony glanced out the window yet again. Sirius was pretending to be reading a book, but he was betrayed by the fact that it was upside down. Ron was already late, and Harmony was worried sick. Sirius wasn't worried about Ron, as he had seen Ron in action and knew he was a lot tougher than people gave him credit for. However, Harmony looked like she might have an ulcer if Ron didn't show up in the next couple minutes.   
"Harmony," He said. "Calm DOWN! Worrying yourself senseless isn't going to bring him back from testing."  
"Sirius, YOU know what the testing is like!" She said in a voice a little higher than usual. "It's horrible." Sirius had to agree with her there, and shuddered slightly in the warm day as he remembered the trials of two years ago.   
Sirius sparked a conversation to keep her occupied. Yet still she checked the window every thirty seconds or so. It was obvious to Sirius that in the few days they had known each other they had become close friends and shared a deep bond. Sirius was reminded of James, and how after only a few days they were sticking up for each other and knew they shared an unspoken friendship.   
Harmony was worried sick about Ron and what might've happened to him. Their friendship had bloomed very quickly. Maybe somewhere in Harmony's secret heart of hearts she wanted it to be more than that. But being a princess teaches you to keep yourself hidden to keep people from panicing, and to listen to your reason more than basing every decision on your emotions, and Harmony had learned well. So whatever thoughts of anything other than friendship with Ron were hidden so well that not even Harmony knew they existed. Yet. They were trying to push through to the surface.   
She was checking the window yet again when she suddenly screamed.   
"There he is! THERE HE IS!!!" With that she flew down to the gardens, Sirius in pursuit.   
Harmony threw her arms around Ron and Sirius followed her example. Ron looked dead tired, but he was happy.   
Ron was so relieved to be with Harmony and Sirius. When the reached the Entrance Hall they found King Shinra waiting to welcome his newest subject. Ron sighed; he was so glad to be home.   
NO! Something in his mind screamed as they headed for dinner. No, home is the Burrow with your family. Home is at Hogwarts with Harry and Hermione. Home is not here with these people you hardly know! But somehow Ron felt very at home in this copy of Hogwarts in this hidden city. Maybe even more so than when he WAS at the Burrow or at Hogwarts. It was somewhat unnerving.   
  
  
Mrs. Weasley sat alone, knitting a sweater for Ginny. She was really thinking about her missing son. She glanced the large grandfather clock on the wall, her only consellation. Ron's hand was not on mortal peril. She went back to her knitting.   
Then she looked up again, and her heart lept. Ron's hand was no longer on 'lost' but on 'home!' He had come back! Mrs. Weasley lept up and searched the house thoroughly, but to her confusion and disappointment Ron was not there.   
"Why?!" Mrs. Wealsey yelled at the clock. "Do you say that he's home just to torture me?" 


	11. Of Poems, Pranks, and the Voice hint hin...

Chapter Eleven  
Of Poems, Pranks, and the Voice (hint hint: From the Woods)  
  
September passed into October with little event. Mr. and Mrs.Weasley puzzled that Ron's hand was still on 'home' when he wasn't. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny slowly started to come to normal, and were pretty much there by mid October. Harmony, Ron and Sirius grew very close, so close that they could be referred to as the Marigold Marauders. Ron and Harmony grew especially close, maybe even closer than Ron and Harry had been.   
It was the week before Halloween when Professor McGonagall announced that this year, as an expirement, they would be having a dance along with the usual feast for Halloween. She didn't seem to happy about this, but the seventh years were thrilled. Harry and Hermione would, of course, be going as a couple.   
  
It was the tradition in Marigold to have a ball for Halloween. Ron, who had heard of but never been to a royal ball, was looking forward to it. Sirius jokingly called him Cinderella, but Ron shrugged it off. That was Sirius for you.   
An hour before seven, which was when the dinner/dance/ball/ whatever-you-want-to-call-it began, Sirius and Ron were plotting the best places to put the exploding cheeseballs, and trying to figure out how these people knew when Halloween and Christmas were if they didn't use a calandar. And getting ready, of course.   
"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for the cheeseballs?" Ron asked as they headed for the Ballroom, which was, in Ron's mind, the Great Hall.   
"No," Sirius answered nonchalantly. Ron's eyes widened.   
"What do you mean, 'no?'" He hissed. Sirius shrugged.   
So they started loitering around, waiting for Harmony. Dukes, Lords, and other various nobility came in a steady stream, but there was no sign of the princess.   
Half an hour later Ron was getting worried. Where could she be? Were princesses supposed to be fashionably late? Were they supposed to wait for trumpets? Or perhaps--  
Ron's speculating was cut off by a tap on the shoulder from Sirius. He turned, his eyes slowly making it to the top of the stairs.   
There stood Harmony. She stood radiant and elegant, an almost visible aura around her commanding respect. Harry had this same feild of power, one that made you look up to him, even if he WAS short. Harmony didn't even resemble the fun loving teenager Ron knew. As she started coming down the stairs he got a closer look of what she was wearing: A long emerald green drees with no sleeves that showed off all her curves. Her beautiful golden hair hung around her, kept out of her face by little braids that encircled her head. Just as this hairband stopped, the crown began. It was a real work of art, an elegant, slowly steeping peak carved from emerald. It seemed to melt into her hair. Ron gaped.   
"What are you staring at?" Harmony asked as she reached her two companions. Sirius stifled a laugh and Ron was brought back to earth with a crash.   
"Uh...um...nothing?" Ron tried. Harmony just laughed and sat down to eat.   
  
  
  
Hogwarts seemed to buzz as students walked into the Great Hall for the Halloween Dance. People pointed at unexpected couples, and looked for their friends and partners. Harry and Hermione weren't really paying any attention. They went in, ate, and were having a great time together. They danced until they were out of breath and laughing. Harry plopped down while Hermione went for a couple of butterbeers. This is the way it should be, Harry thought contentedly.   
NO, not without Ron! How dare you even think about forgetting him. Esplecially since it's YOUR fault he's gone! Harry conscience screamed. Oh shit, not again. Harry and his concsience silently argued.   
Hermione sat down and gave her boyfriend a very strange look. She knew He was beating himself up over Ron again, and she was getting sick of it! She loved Ron, but it was not Harry's fault that he was gone. He could not sit around and mope about it all the time.   
"Harry?" She said sternly.  
"Hmmm?" Harry replied.   
"Quit acting like a child."   
"Excuse me?" Harry replied, turning to look at her.   
"You heard me. You have to get through this, and stop trying NOT to have fun just because Ron's not here." Hermione replied.   
"You're acting like it's no big DEAL that our best friend has mysteriously disappeared off the face of the earth!" Harry yelled. Hermione was astonished.   
"How DARE you say that?!" She asked. They were starting to attract some looks.   
"IT'S TRUE!"Harry insisted.   
"IT IS NOT AND YOU KNOW IT!!" She screamed, starting to cry. She ran to the common room.   
"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" Harry demanded of the people around him. He stormed out, and headed for the lake where he figured he could get some peace.   
  
  
  
"Care to dance?" Drep asked, extending a hand and a very fake smile her way. Harmony looked at him in disgust, but saw her father looking at her with his eyebrows raised expectantly. Why he liked the Dreps was beyond her.   
"Fine," She muttered, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the dance floor.   
"Yuk!" Ron said, sitting down next to Sirius and watching as Harmony and Drep danced.   
"Yeah, I bet she's not enjoying that." Sirius replied. Ron wasn't to sure, she didn't look to uncomfortable there, dancing with him.   
Ron suddenly stood up and went outside for some fresh air. He went out into the gardens and out to the gazebo. He sat there, listening to the music that wafted out to him and feeling very alone.   
  
  
Harmony chose to watch her friends as opposed to look at Drep's awful face. As he babbled incessesently, she saw Ron get up and go outside.  
"I have to go to the bathroom." She said abruptly, and took off after Ron without further explanation.   
She found him in the gazebo, looking very depressed indeed. She sneaked up to it and out of nowhere spoke.  
"Hey," Ron jumped about a foot in the air.   
"Hi," He said, looking embaressed. Harmony heard the song change. She smiled.  
"Dance with me?" She asked. Ron went red.   
"I don't dance--"   
"You do now." Harmony interrupted, taking his hand. She began to waltz, and Ron caught on relatively quickly. They danced and laughed in the moonlight in the gazibo of the royal garden.   
When the song stopped Harmony and Ron stopped dancing, but didn't let go of one another. Suddenly, Ron leaned forward and kissed her.   
There was nothing awkard or questionable. It was as if the romantic setting and music disappeared, and there was nothing but her and Ron. She didn't feel herself spinning like in the books.It was just so...right. It was a feeling of invinciblity. A feeling of love.   
"Let me show you something," Harmony whispered as they broke apart. She took his hands and led him through the woods. The trees broke apart, and Ron found himself in a familiar clearing. It was the beautiful haven that had led him to be here in the first place. There, away from everything that distracted them, they danced as Harmony sang in Snake, which was somehow suddenly even more beautiful than English.  
"Kiss me, beneath the milky twilight. Lead me out to a moonlight grove..."  
  
  
Harry stared into the lake. He felt very empty, as if he had lost even more than Ron. He knew it was Hermione, but the trace of anger still left in his system was telling him that he shouldn't be worried about it.   
Out of the deafening silence came a beautiful sound. Harry could've swore it was a love song. It drifted on the breeze as if it belonged there. Harry breifly wondered if it was an angel, but decided that as long as whoever she was kept singing, he didn't care.   
When she did inevitably stop, Harry, while still very upset, felt strangely calm. He walked inside, hoping this could somehow turn out okay.   
  
  
Sirius was laughing so hard he couldn't breath. It had been the King himself who had discovered the cheeseballs. King Shinra was also laughing, which was what Sirius had been expecting. He calmed down and sat down with some pretzels and a butterbeer.   
He glanced up, and he smiled in a way that could be argued paternal. He had been looking at the back door, the one Harmony and Ron slipped through, holding hands. He nodded, knowing exactly what was going on, and he felt a slight pang of sadness.   
James and Lily had fallen in love the same way.   
  
  
  
Harmony went up to her room as if floating on air, reliving the kiss from Ron again and again in her mind. His touch, his face,. his lips...she almost bumped into her bedroom door. She sat down at her mirror and began to brush her hair, humming softly. Thats when she saw it; the crumpled peice of parchment she had been studying before she left for the ball.   
The despised parchment held a destiny that the princess didn't want. She read it again, reveiwing the hated words.   
  
Oh, my precious Snake  
Hark my words  
A man of stars will come to you  
Not of your kind   
Yet he is the key to all  
Ready for battle  
My precious Snake  
  
Yonder lies the lion  
Hark his words as well  
Relinquish old hate  
Above all else  
Resist the call of the snakes  
  
Not far away, another ally  
Eagle waits impatiently  
Ever clever, ever witty  
In your soul you sense it  
Resurrect old friendships  
Helga, Godric, and Rowena  
May your heir keep the legacy alive  
  
Anonymity is his middle name  
Loyalty is the trait of the badger  
Never give up hope  
Do not forsake them and  
Oh, my precious snake  
Ready you shall be  
  
~~Salazar Slytherin 


	12. Of Slytherin, Secrets, and Animagi

Chapter Twelve  
Of Slytherin, Secrets, and Animagi  
  
"I'm bored." Ron said, studying the ceiling above him. A couple days after the ball Harmony was resting her head on Ron's shoulder, while Sirius sat across from them, and they tossed around ideas on entertainment.   
"I don't know, Padfoot, I don't think we'd get away with turning Drep into a hedgehog, his animagus is a fox." Harmony replied to Sirius's suggestion. Ron suddenly sat straighter in indignation.   
"What?" He asked. "DREP is an animagus?" Harmony looked up at him.  
"Of course! I really should go get my potion, but I just don't have time, usually." Harmony sighed.   
"Potion?" Sirius and Ron cried at the same time.   
"Yeah," She replied, slightly shocked at their reactions. "You just go down and take this potion thingy--"  
"That's IT?!" Sirius demanded.   
"Yeah....?" Harmony replied. "Is there a problem with that?"   
"After all the work James and I went through..." Sirius said, plainly ignoring Harmony.   
"Hey," Ron said. "If you're not an animagus, lets go and become animagi." Ron said, getting up. Harmony nodded.   
"I'll be a snake." Harmony said without a doubt. Then something hit her and her face brightened with understanding.   
"We can find out what your animal is!" She squealed to Ron. "You'll turn into whatever it is!"  
"Cool." Ron replied. And so, with Sirius still grumbling, they headed out to become animagi.  
  
  
"Hello, your majesty." A thin man said, bowing as the golden haired girl and her companions entered the musty room. She turned to him and explained her mission. He led her to a door that was gray with a round glass window toward the top.   
"Drink this and go through that door." The man instructed. His name was Richard, and apparently he held a high place in the court. Harmony gulped the bubbling liquid and entered the room. Ron and Sirius watched anxiously through the little window. Ron gasped.  
It was no longer his girlfriend standing in the center of the room, but a jungle green snake with silver/black eyes. She sparkled like diamonds in the water.   
She turned back into herself with a *pop* and Ron let out a sigh of relief. She came out laughing.   
"That was interesting." She said. "I was thinking, if you" (she pointed at Sirius) "Are Padfoot, then who am I?" Sirius thought for a moment, but Ron spoke immediatly.   
"Gem." He said without hesitation. Sirius nodded in agreement, and they handed a glass of the stuff to Ron.   
Harmony peered through the window, looking to see what Ron would become. He melted away and became--  
Harmony shut her eyes hard and opened them again. Of all the things, she never would've suspected...but he was.   
A badger with ebony eyes peered back her.   
Suddenly Harmony remembered something.   
"Loyalty is the trait of the badger..." She said aloud, her eyes wide in surprise. Sirius looked at her.   
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sirius asked. Harmony gulped.   
"But it can't be--" Harmony pleaded with no one in particular. Sirius gave her a Look, and Harmony sighed.   
"All right, I'll tell him. When we get home." Harmony replied, defeated. Ron walked out.   
"So, who am I?" Ron asked. Harmony avoided his eyes.   
"Uhhh...." She replied, trying desperatly to think of a name.   
"Puffy!" Sirius declared.   
"NO!!" Ron protested, but Harmony giggled and the name stuck. They called him 'Puffy' all the way home, until Ron just gave up trying to argue with the ridiculus nick name.   
When they entered the castle Ron could sense something going on with Harmony and Sirius. She was silently pleading with him about something. Ron didn't bring this up until they were seated comfortably in the library.   
"All right, you two." Ron said, giving them death stares. Harmony avoided looking at Ron and Sirius rolled his eyes.   
"This is between you and him." He said to Harmony. "I am leaving."  
"Sirius!" Harmony begged as he exited the library. Ron looked hard at his girlfriend.   
"What is it?" He inquired. Harmony sighed.   
"Ron, what's you're name? You're FULL name?" Harmony asked. Ron looked at her strangly.  
"Ronald Micheal Weasley." Ron replied. Then he seemed to remember something. "What's yours? I don't believe I ever got past 'Harmony'."  
"My name," Harmony said in defeat, "Is Harmony Zalaras Slytherin."   
  
  
  
Hermione wasn't paying Professor Jenkins (the Defense Against the Dark arts teacher) any attention. She was staring across the room at Harry, who was very pointedly looking at the professor. She wanted to talk to him, to apologize, but she didn't see that happening any time soon. For some reason, Harry seemed a lot more pissed off than need be.   
"Miss Granger?" A voice cut through her daze. She looked up at Jenkins. She was pretty, with short, chocolate colored hair and eyes to match. She was middle aged professor who was fun if you didn't give her grief.   
"Yes?" Hermione asked.   
"Name the differences between a wood nymph and a wood sprite." She said.   
"There are none." Hermione answered promptly. "'Sprite' is a slang term for a nymph."   
"That's correct." The professor replied. "Five points to Gryffindor." Harry shot the professor a Look, then started staring at the ceiling. Hermione sighed.   
At lunch Harry sat with Dean, Seamus, and Neville, all of whom immediatly began talking at once. Hermione sighed again and sat alone. After poking at the lunch she didn't want for a few moments, she left and headed for the library.   
Harry watched her go, and sighed. He didn't want to be fighting with Hermione. Maybe he should go talk to her? Harry thought of where she could be heading to. Well, that was easy, the library.   
Suddenly Harry wolfed down the lunch and went after Hermione, as if he were on orders. He found her in the library.   
"Hi," He murmered. Hermione looked up, and then instinctively in the other direction.   
"Hello," She replied.   
"Can we end this?" Harry asked. Hermione sighed and stood up.   
"Of course, Harry, but you really need to let this go! If you keep beating yourself up I'm not going to be able to help. What if--" Hermione was cut off by Harry's kiss. She melted into him with relief.   
"Let's leave the 'what ifs' for later," Harry said, smiling at her. Hermione smiled back.   
  
  
Ginny looked at him. He was a lot cuter than she had ever given him credit for. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?! Her mind screeched. Do you remember who this IS?  
But she ignored it, and continued to look at him wistfully from the other side of the hall. What caught her attention about him was beyond her. They didn't have any classes together, and she hardly knew him. But Ginny did know one thing.   
She had a major crush on Draco Malfoy.   
  
  
Crystal Jenkin's was a sensible professor and, in the eyes of many, a good role model for the students of Hogwarts. However, the only man she had on her mind was not. Crystal wished most desperately that there was some was they could be together, but it was practically impossible.   
She picked up the mirror he had given her as a gift the last time she had seen him. It was, of course, an enchanted mirror, that allowed her to see him whenever she wanted. There was he was, his handsome dark hair and laughing eyes. He was looking serious at the moment, and was sitting in the library with the blonde girl, and a red haired boy she had never seen before.   
Crystal gasped and dropped the mirror. She knew that boy, his picture had been in the Prophet dozens of times.  
But why was Sirius with Ron Weasley?   
  
  
"What?" Ron whispered. Slytherin? Had he heard right? "As in Salazar Slytherin?" Harmony looked as if she might cry.   
"Yes," She said, blinking back tears. "As in Salazar."  
"But...but...that doesn't make any sense!" Ron argued, frustrated. "Slytherin was human and you're a wood nymph."  
"Sprite." Harmony corrected automatically. Ron gave her a funny look.   
"They're the same thing." Ron said.   
"No they're not. Just, let me tell the story, all right?" Harmony said. Ron nodded.   
"As you know, after the Four Founders of Hogwarts started the school, Slytherin sunk into the Dark Arts. He disappeared never to be seen again in the forest, causing the other three to forbid it from student access. Thus; the Forbidden Forest.   
"What is not known is that while in the forest Slytherin found a colony of wood nymphs. He fell in love with one by the name of Marigold. They were married, and Slytherin wanted to repent for what he had done to Godric and the others.   
"Meanwhile he and Marigold had several children. They found other human/nymph children, now known as sprites. They gathered them together and Slytherin founded the kingdom of Marigold and ruled as King.   
"The worst thing Slytherin did was, of course, create an heir to destroy the world. Through a few useful spies he discovered the other three founders to be creating heirs of their own, who would unite and defeat the Great Evil, as they called it. However, Slytherin had added a hair from each of the founders into the potion of his heir, and so three could not defeat the Evil without a touch of himself.  
"Slytherin tried desperatly to explain this, because love had turned him around and he felt a guilt so horrible he once attempted suicide and Marigold had to stop him. But when he arrived at the school they were prepared for war, so he retreated. Helga Hufflepuff was the only one who listened, and sneaked Slytherin's heir into the spell, which required amulets and weapons and all kinds of things.   
"So, in a last ditch effort for Godric and Rowena's forgiveness, he created a second heir who would fight the Great Evil, Voldemort, alongside the other three. His only problem was he didn't think they would unite. So he added a man who was connected to all four. That man is Sirius, and I am Slytherin's second heir."  
By the time Harmony had finished her speil she was crying. Ron jumped up and held her close.   
"Why didn't you tell me?" He whispered, rocking back and forth as she sobbed. "I'm not angry with you, you can't help what you are." He looked into her blue eyes, but she looked away.   
"There's more" She replied. Ron watched as she pulled out her wand and summoned something. An ancient peice of parchment flew into her hands. It was the poem Slytherin had written. Ron read it.   
"Yeah?" He asked, handing it back.   
"I know there are clues in it, but I don't what they are. It's supposed to help me find the other four. There's only one other thing I'm sure of."  
"What's that?" Ron asked.  
"You're the Heir of Helga Hufflepuff." She whispered.  
Ron sat, stunned, trying to compute this new piece of information. Ron, an heir? Ron, who's only accomplishment was being Harry Potter's best friend? Ron, who had never stood out in his entire life?   
"Ron?" Harmony said, interrupting his thoughts.   
"Hmmm?"   
"Remember how I said Slytherin fled to the Forest?"   
"Uh uh," Ron replied.   
"Well, uh, that's also where he met Marigold, and...everything else." She said. Ron didn't seem to understand what she meant, and Harmony realized that after all that she had just dumped on him she would have to spell it out.   
"We're in the Forbidden Forest, Ron." She said. Ron's eyes widened in surprise.   
"What?!"   
"Yes, if I hadn't found you and you had continued travelling North, you would've been on Hogwart's front lawn the next morning." She looked up at him and bit her lip. "You have a choice, you can stay here and help me prepare for the final battle, or return to Hogwarts. It's completely up to you." 


	13. Of Malfoy, Mistletoe, and Discoveries

Chapter Thirteen  
Of Malfoy, Mistletoe, and Discoveries  
  
"Well, maybe it has a hidden message in it somewhere." Ron said, his brow furrowed in concentration.   
He had, of course, chosen to stay in Marigold. Now that Ron had adjusted to life here, he decided that until he could find a way to still be with Harmony, it was Marigold where he would live.   
He, Harmony, and Sirius were studying the crumpled poem written by Slytherin. It was quite comfortable, the three friends sitting near the fire with hot chocolate and cookies while snow fell gently outside and they listened to the Christmas carols that had been bewitched into the air.   
"I give up for tonight." Harmony declared, standing up. Ron looked into her clear blue eyes, still finding it hard to believe that his beautiful Harmony could be in any way related to the Dark Lord, but you COULD consider them half siblings.   
"Let's do the study tonight," Sirius suggested. Since the first of the month they had spent each evening decorating one of the rooms, and Ron was all for making the serious study look festive. As they walked in, Harmony walked over to the calander and marked off another day.   
"Only two weeks until Christmas!" She grinned.   
  
  
"Only a week until Christmas holidays!" Ginny gibbered to her friend, Gabby. Unfortunatly, Gabby was going home for holidays while Ginny was going to stay in the castle while her parents did nothing at home but mope about Ron.   
She turned and saw Hermione and Harry coming out of the corridor to her left, holding hands, talking, and laughing. Ginny smiled, it was good to see them back to normal.   
"Ginny, look out!" Gabby said, but it was too late. She collided head on with someone.   
"Oh, sorry," Ginny said, kneeling down. They both started grasping for fallen books and papers, and not until their hands grabbed for the same book did they look up at one another. Draco Malfoy looked back at her. They stood up and glanced away awkardly. Suddenly Harry and Hermione burst out laughing.   
"What is it?!" Ginny and Malfoy demanded in unison.   
"Oh...it's just that..." But Hermione was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe and Harry had to explain.   
"You're standing under the mistletoe." Harry said, sending Hermione into another fit of giggles. Ginny looked at Draco and became bright red, and she saw Draco tinged pink.   
"Bug off, Potter," He mumbled, turning around to leave. Gabby led Ginny away, tears of mirth flowing down her cheeks.   
  
  
Draco Malfoy sat in Potions on the last day before Christmas holidays, quite bored. He had finished his Glory Stopper, and was rather impatiently awaiting the bell.   
"Are you finished, Mr. Malfoy?" Came Snape's voice from behind him. Draco jumped and turned around to face the Potions master.   
"Yes sir," He replied. Snapes lips curled.   
"Excellent, 10 points to Slytherin." He said. Draco suddenly got an idea.   
"May I go to the bathroom, sir, since I'm finished?" He asked. He had no intentions whatsoever of going to the bathroom, but he was willing to do anything to get out of the class early. Snape granted him permission, and Draco sprinted out the door.   
As he made his way quickly down the corridor, he suddenly collided with something. He bent down to pick up his stuff, and realized that this was last week all over again; for there, bending down over her books, was Ginny Weasley.   
As she stood up, Draco realized once again how different she was from the red head, freckled, eleven year old he had first seen six years ago. She was only a few inches shorter than him, with a figure that showed because of the way her robes clung, long, silky, firey hair and large, imploring, fawn-like eyes. They were searching him now. At the same time Draco and Ginny looked up, and saw hanging above them the little green plant that Potter had pointed out a few days ago.   
For a moment, they just looked at the mistletoe, and then at each other. Then, as if in slow motion, Draco kissed her.   
Ginny suddenly felt the cold corridor rush away from her, and the warmness of Draco instead, which was strange, as she had always imagined him as being cold. Not that she was thinking about that, she was thinking about the only thing on this earth that was important; this moment, here and now, with Draco. His arms, his touch, his mouth...they were a sensation never before imagined by Ginny. It only after a minute of this new found bliss that something else crept into her mind.   
What about your brother? The one who was tortured by the boy in your arms? Her mind screeched, interrupting the sheer ecstacy of kissing the son of her family's arch enemy. What about Ron, who would never let this happen? Does he no longer matter? This boy, who you are kissing, this boy probably HELPED in his kidnap! Are you KISSING one of the people responsible for your own brother's death? TRAITOR!   
At her senses final plea Ginny tore away without warning, leaving Draco standing in the corridor, alone, confused, and insulted, with nothing but Ginny's forgotten spell books to console him.  
  
  
  
"There has GOT to be a pattern somewhere!" Sirius cried out.   
"A lot of rubbish if you ask me." Ron grumbled. He had basically given up on the jibberish that Slytherin had written.  
"I've got a question for you." Harmony said thoughtfully. "If you had to guess, who would you say that's our age that could possibly be the heir of Gryffindor?" Sirius thought for a moment, but Ron answered immediatly.  
"Harry, no one fits the description better." He said, while Sirius nodded in agreement.   
"Hmmm...." Harmony said. "Interesting...." They sat for a while longer, before Harmony gasped.   
"Look!!" She exclaimed, pointing to the second verse.   
  
Yonder lies the lion   
Hark his words as well  
Relinquish old hate  
Above all else  
Resist the call of the Snakes  
  
"What about it?" Ron asked.  
"The first words are yonder, hark, relinquish, above, and resist. The first LETTERS of those words are YHRAR." Harmony said excitedly. "Reanrange them and you get--"   
"Harry." Sirius said in understanding.  
"Look at this!" Ron said, pointing. "The first verse letters are OHANYRM, which turns into Harmony."   
"And verse four spells Ronald." Sirius said, all three of them now jibbering in excitement.   
"What's number three?" Harmony said thoughtfully, as she didn't know the people of Hogwarts. They studied it for a moment. Then Sirius and Ron looked up at each other.   
"Hermione," They said in unison. Harmony raised an eyebrow.   
"Hermione?" She asked. This set Ron off, telling her all about the adventures of the Hogwarts trio. Harmony was intrigued.  
"Tell me the one about your second year and your sister again, that was fascinating." She said. Sirius cleared his throat.   
"Back to the matter at HAND!" He said, tearing Ron and Harmony away from their story telling session.   
"Sir Black?" Came a voice from outside.   
"What?!" Sirius shot back.   
"There's someone here to see you." Was the reply. After looking at each other quizzically, Ron and Harmony followed Sirius toward the main hall. They got to the top of the flight of stairs where the could see the Entrance Hall, and Sirius went FLYING down the stairs toward a pretty woman with short, brown hair.   
"Sirius!" Crystal exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. He picked her up, twirled her around, set her down and kissed her fiercly. Ron gaped. Sirius let go and, grinning, lead her up the stairs.   
"Ron, this is Crystal Jenkins, the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. Crystal, this is Ron Weasely."   
"Yes, I know." Crystal said as she shook Ron's hand.   
"How did you know THAT?" Sirius asked.   
"Well, he's only been in the paper about a hundred times!" She said sarcastically. "Speaking of which, I want to hear how the Missing Child of 1997 got to be in Marigold anyway."  
"Missing Child of 1997?" Ron asked.   
"Yeah, everyone's buzzing about the disappearence of Ron Weasley." Crystal said. As they talked they walked back to Sirius's room. (Which, in Hogwartarian, was the Transifguration classroom.)  
"Really?" Ron was genuinly surprised that his disappearence had made any impact at Hogwarts. Crystal nodded.   
"Everyone in your year has taken it really hard. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and, of course, your sister, have taken it especially hard. They're just starting to come out of this...how should I put this...comatose state. They've been numb and aloof. Potter and Granger, according to popular student belief, are turning to each other--"   
"Hang on, Harry...and, and HERMIONE are, like, an item?!" Ron said, and Crystal nodded. Ron started laughing so hard he fell down. "Now THAT is funny," He said, getting himself back together. They continued to talk all the way up the seven flights of stairs.   
Harmony felt extremely seperated from the other three. They were talking about a place she had heard so much about, but never experienced. They all had something in common that she had never experienced.   
"At this rate, I'll never get to know the other three." Harmony whispered.  
  
  
  
Christmas Day dawned bright and early. Ginny jumped out of bed and headed for the presents. She found the norm from Mum, a box of chocolate from Gabby, among other things. She spent the day with Harry and Hermione, avoiding Dra--Malfoy's stare at dinner.   
Damn him! She didn't even know him and she was unconciously calling him by his first name! She looked at him, then quickly away. She didn't need him. Really, she didn't!  
But after tea she knew she was just lying to herself. What was that Shakespeare had said? "To thine own self be true." Pretty smart for a Muggle, that Shakespeare.  
She was walking out of the Great Hall, not really paying to where she was going, when a hand shot out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her into an empty classroom. Ginny slowly looked up. Not Draco, not Draco, not Draco, PLEASE not Draco!  
It was Draco.  
"What the hell was that?!" He demanded, his voice almost a hiss. Ginny looked down to get away from the silver gray eyes that seemed to be boring into her.  
"It's your brother isn't it?" He said, looking at her. "You think I had something to do with his disapearence." Ginny turned her head guiltily.   
"Well, I don't deny that my father planned the Weasley kidnapping for a loooong time." Draco said. "I can tell you everything I know about it." Ginny looked up again.  
"Really?" She breathed. Draco peered into her brown eyes, they were pleading with him.   
"It never happened." He said.  
"WHAT?!" Ginny said, caught completly off gaurd.  
"He had it all scheduled, and he was getting ready to leave when we got a message from our Ministry contact." Draco said, looking at Ginny in a way that made all her logical notions that he was lying drift away. "He said that there had been a missing persons report filed to the Ministry. Ron Weasley had disappeared, and my dad was pissed off as all hell."  
"Oh," Ginny said, looking up into Draco's eyes. "I'm sorry." Draco didn't respond. "What?"  
"I was just thinking that I would like to continue last night." He said, his eyes twinkling. Ginny giggled, and was leaning forward when she heard something.  
"Ginny? GINNY?!" Hermione and Harry were searching for her.  
"Draco, I've got to go!" Ginny said. She pecked his cheek. Draco gave her a half smile as she ran after her Gryffindor friends.   
Ginny sat in an armchair near the fire. Harry sat across from her with Hermione on his lap. She was leaning against him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Ginny was thinking about how very comfortable it would be if she were sitting like that with Draco....but she also had something else on her mind.  
If You-Know-Who hadn't kidnapped Ron, what had happened? A million possibilities wandered through her mind, each more unlikely than the next. She finally gave up and began daydreaming about Draco, the whole common room a warm and comfortable haze. She jumped about a foot in the air when she heard an owl tapping at the window.   
She ran up and snatched the letter, expecting to sit down and hand it to Harry. But it was for her. Intrigued, she opened it and read the note.   
  
Ginny,  
Meet me on the grounds tonight near the forest. Bring something warm, I want to go for a walk.   
~Draco  
  
Ginny smiled as she sat back down, daydreaming until Harry and Hermione turned in and Ginny could change and run downstairs unobserved. Mr. Filch had taken a Christmas holiday to Sweden to see his mother, who was rumored to be ill. She only had Peeves to worry about, and luck was on her side.   
"Hey," She said, coming up to Draco, her cheeks already turning red from the cold. Draco kissed her, and then took her hand. They walked down the stretch, talking. They both came to the conclusion that their family feud sounded like something stupid and irrelevent. They were very comfortable until Ginny suddenly stopped.   
She had gotten a gut feeling. This didn't happen often, but Ginny had had the feeling on Halloween in second year that something that didn't belong was in the castle. Sirius Black attacked the common room. In third year she KNEW something was fishy about Moody, and so on. And now she had the feeling that there was something in the forest, something they needed to find.   
She explained this to Draco, who immediatly objected. He had been in the Forest once, and that was more than enough for one life time. But Ginny's feeling got stronger. It had something to do with Ron. She half dragged Draco into the Forest.  
"I don't like this," He said. The moon wasn't quite full, so werewolves weren't the problem. But there were plenty of other dangers in here. Oh shit.  
  
  
  
Christmas night found Harmony and Ron sitting together in their clearing, singing Christmas Carols, laughing, kissing.... whatever. Harmony's cheeks were a rosy red, and Ron couldn't take his eyes off her. Finally they started to go home.   
"I love you," Harmony said.   
"I love you too," Ron said, quite startled. They kissed and continued, until Harmony put out an arm to stop Ron.   
"Do you hear that?" She asked. Ron strained his ears, which weren't as sensitive as Harmony's pointed ones. The only thing that really seperated them. Ron shook himself mentally and listened. Footsteps. Without speaking they scrambled up the nearest tree and waited, hardly breathing.  
  
  
  
Ginny and Draco continued walking, ducking under low hanging branches and stepping over logs.   
It was at the same moment that they got that instinctive feeling that there was something watching them. They stopped, looked at each other, and then ahead. Ginny, scared to death but determined, gripped Draco's hand and stepped forward.   
She screamed as something jumped out in front from above them, blocking the path. It rose slowly and dramtically. Ginny shrunk back against Draco, who held her protectively. No matter how afraid, Ginny couldn't take her eyes off the figure. Then it spoke.  
"Get your fucking hands off of her."  
The clouds suddenly seperated, sending a burst of moonlight onto the path. Standing there was a boy dressed in a fine silk robe of red and green. He looked furious and superior. Draco's jaw dropped and Ginny screamed again.   
It was Ron. 


	14. Of Sisters, Sirius's Gift, and Amulets f...

Chapter Fourteen  
Of Sisters, Sirius's Gift and Amulets from Thin Air  
  
Ginny stopped breathing and nearly fainted. Draco tried to speak, and failed miserably. Ron fumed at the pair of them, completely forgetting that he was thought to be dead and only knowing that his worst enemy was HOLDING his little sister.  
It was, of course, Harmony who brought calm. She slipped down next to Ron so quietly that no one noticed and spoke, sending everyone else about a foot in the air.  
"I think we have a bit of explaining to do." She said.   
"WE?!" Ron exclaimed. "WE?! What about THEM! That is DRACO MALFOY! I want to know why he's TOUCHING MY SISTER!!!!!!!!!"  
"Ron," Harmony said calmly. "Has nothing Crystal said stayed in the space between your ears? They think you're DEAD!"   
"And as soon as I'm dead she goes trotting off with a Malfoy!?" Ron retorted. Harmony sighed.  
"Hello Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy. My name is Pricncess Harmony and this is Marigold's village idiot." At this, Draco couldn't help but laugh. This loosened up everyone.... everyone but Ginny.  
"I don't understand..." She said, looking around in disbelief.   
"C'mon," Harmony said, putting her arm around the red haired girl. "Let's go back to the castle and we'll explain."   
"Hogwarts?" Ginny said hopefully.  
"No," Harmony replied, laughing silently at this reaction, so much like Ron's. "When I said 'Princess' Harmony, I meant PRINCESS." And with that they headed deeper into the forest. Ron told Ginny everything, even Harmony's last name, which Harmony thought was rather rude as it wasn't any of his business. She sighed, oh well.   
Meanwhile, she chatted with Draco, and found a real kindred spirit. Strange, while different in so many ways, their bond as Slytherins shone through. Strangers would've thought that the couples had switched. People who knew them would've said "EWWWWW! Ron's going out with GINNY!?" Let's not go there.  
They reached Marigold, and Ron and Harmony couldn't help but grin at the looks of awe on their faces at the sight of the castle and it's similarities to Hogwarts. Sirius came down and nearly scared Ginny to death. While Draco had known since forever that Black had been framed, it took quite a lot of convincing for Ginny. But afterward they sat down and had a good chat. Another near heart attack for the two of them when their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor popped into the picture.  
The six of them sat in a semi-circle around the fire, laughing as the story unfolded, from everyone's point of veiw. Ron had INSISTED that he and Harmony sat between Ginny and Draco, but that didn't stop them from looking at each other. Ron hit Draco several times, and Harmony had to prevent several fights. But other than that, it was fun....  
All in all it was a very tiring experience for Ginny and Draco, who spent the night in Marigold, obviously. After they had been shown to their SEPERATE rooms Ron flopped into an armchair near the fire.  
"C'mon..." Said Harmony coaxingly with a smile. "You enjoyed that."  
"Well, of course I enjoyed seeing my sister." Ron snapped.  
"Yeah, but you didn't mind Draco being here too," Harmony pointed out. Ron sighed.  
"I guess not," He mumbled, then sighed. "God, I miss Hogwarts."   
"Huh?" Harmony had not been expeting this.   
"Ginny and even Malfoy are making me, well, homesick for Hogwarts. And Harry. And even Hermione. I wish I could send them a Christmas present or something." Ron said.  
"Did you say 'present'?" Harmony asked. "I don't believe I've given you yours yet." Ron blushed slightly as Harmony helped him up and led him out of the room.  
"You didn't have to," Ron mumbled.  
"Didn't have to!?" Harmony exclaimed. "After this bracelet?" I don't think so." Ron had given Harmony a solid silver charm bracelet and four charms; a music note, a snake, a crown, and a flute. The flute, Ron said, was what her voice reminded him of as she sang. Harmony had started crying.  
Ron was surprised to find himself in the study--again. She sat him down and opened the cupboard. It didn't look that dangerous, but Ron knew for a fact that if you weren't a decendent of Salazar AND Marigold Slytherin the door would blow you to bits. Ron had often wondered what needed such heavy protection, and he guessed now he would find out.  
Harmony pulled out three black velvet boxes. She sat down, and carefully handed one to Ron. He took it, and, fingers trembling a bit more than slightly, opened it. He gasped.  
Carefully aranged in the box (which was black silk on the inside) was an amulet of a badger carved completely from obsidian. It hung on a gold chain. Ron picked it up, and the carved badger started GLOWING.  
"Uh....jewelry?"  
"It's your amulet for the battle," Harmony said. She pulled out a necklace that had been hidden behind her dress. It was an solid emerald snake on a silver chain, and also glowing. "Sirius has one too, it looks like a miniature galaxy in a tiny glass ball. You said you wanted to send presents to Harry and Hermione, right? Look at this!"  
Ron sat next to Harmony, still clutching both the amulet and the box which had held it. Harmony opened the remaining boxes. The first amulet was a ruby lion, also on a gold chain. The other was a sapphire eagle on a bronze chain. Amazing.  
"They won't arrive to Hogwarts until tommorrow," Harmony said. "And they'll be sent to Dumbledore. I'll send a note saying who they're for, as if he couldn't figure it out himself. Need a little help with that?" Harmony asked trying very hard not to laugh (and failing miserably) as she watched Ron struggle with the clasp of the amulet. He didn't have any experience with jewelry, of course, but it was still funny. With Harmony's help he finally got it on, although protesting the whole time that it 'wasn't funny.' Uh-huh, whatever you say, dear.  
  
  
  
December 26 was always a bit of a downer for Albus Dumbledore, who enjoyed Christmas very much indeed. No more mistletoe (which, he had noticed, Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy had taken full advantage of, a strange couple, but if it worked for them, it worked for him), no more trees, no more cookies, no more carols, no more gifts--  
As if reading his mind, an owl bearing two wrapped packages flew through Albus's window. A green owl. Whatever. Dumbledore releived the owl of it's burden and sent it on it's way, opening the note.   
  
PLEASE GIVE THE ENCLOSED PACKAGES TO HARRY POTTER AND HERMIONE GRANGER.  
  
Dumbledore frowned. He had no idea what was in these so-called 'presents' so he decided he'd find out. He summoned Harry and Hermione to his office.  
"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, do sit down," He greeted them, motioning to the seats in front of his desk. They looked slightly nervous as they took their seats.  
"These just came to you by owl order. I have no idea what they are or who they are from." Dumabledore said, handing the two beautifully wrapped packages to the bewildered students. They looked up at Dumbledore questioningly.  
"Well, don't dawdle, open them!" Dumbledore said, motioning to the packages. Hermione went first, carefully undoing the green silk bow and removing the red wrapping paper. Inside was a black velvet box. With a very confused look and slightly trembling fingers she opened it. She gasped and nearly fell out of her chair.  
"What is it?!" Harry said. Hermione reached into the box and pulled out a sapphire eagle attached to a long bronze chain. Harry stared. Even Dumbledore found it difficult to hide his shock. However, unlike Harry and Hermione, Dumbledore knew what Hermione was holding.  
Dumbledore had known, of course, that Hermione was the Heir of Ravenclaw, but he hadn't expected the Amulet just to come out of thin air. The world works in mysterious ways.  
Harry pulled out a ruby lion on a gold chain. The two of them looked at Dumbledore curiously.  
"They arrived by owl just now," He explained, but it was apparent that they didn't believe him.  
"What ARE these?" Hermione said, fingering her necklace in awe. It was apparent that Harry was impressed, but he didn't appreciate the beauty of the Amulets. To him, it was jewelry.  
"I'm not sure," Dumbledore lied. He was under NO circumstances allowed to tell Harry and Hermione what they were holding. They had to figure it out on there own. "But they look like powerful magical objects. I suggest you keep them nearby to you at all times." Hermione didn't seem to have a problem with this, but Dumbledore had to smile at Harry's obvious thoughts of lugging around a very heavy, very expensive girly object.  
"I suggest you go enjoy yourselves, your classes are approaching only too quickly." He said, and turned. Harry and Hermione, with nothing better to say, turned on heel and walked out of the office.  
  
  
  
Sirius stood leaning over a balcony, watching an owl flap northward. The sun was just begining to rise. He jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over and saw Crystal smiling up at him.  
"What's wrong?" She asked. Sirius sighed.  
"I'm breaking the law." He replied unenthusiastically. Crystal grinned.  
"What else is new?"  
"Seriously."   
"Black?" She replied. Sirius rolled his eyes.  
"Really, I just sent a Christmas gift to Harry." Sirius said. Crystal did a double take.  
"But...but..." Crystal tried to find words to fit the situation. After all, Crystal was fairly sure that Harry thought Sirius dead.  
"Yeah, just don't tell Harmony. She may be laid back, and I may be her friend, but I'm still breaking the law and she's still royalty, either way."   
"Yeah." Crystal said, watching the sun peer over the horizan. "Sirius?"  
"Hmm?"  
"What did you send him?"  
  
  
  
"That was incredibly strange." Harry said as he and Hermione slowly made their way up to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione nodded her head and started fiddling with the amulet. Harry suddenly took a step backward.  
"What?" Hermione asked. "Did I turn purple?"  
"That...that...THING is GLOWING!" Harry said, pointing a finger at the sapphire eagle. Hermione looked down and gasped.  
"Cool," She said, fingering it even more. Harry looked down at his. The ruby lion was glowing as well.  
"Weird." He said, shaking his head as he reached the Fat Lady.  
"Tinkerbell." Harry said, and she swung open.  
"Well," Hermione said as they enetered. "It can't get any stranger than--" But she cut off upon seeing an owl in the common room. A green owl.  
"What the...?" Harry said, walking over to it. The green creature was carrying a a heavy looking parcel wrapped in gold. Harry took it dully, thinking that he had had enough mysterious presents for one day. The owl flew off immediatly.  
"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked curiously. Harry looked down at the wrapping paper, and gasped. He recognized that hand writing.  
"It's from....Sirius." Harry said, his eyes wide. Hermione gaped.  
"Well, open it!" She said, sitting on the arm of the chair Harry had fallen into in his shock. He carfully removed the paper, and found...a yearbook.  
"It was Sirius's..." Harry said with understanding. He opened it and found the first page full of singnatures and notes. He would've read them on the spot, but his eyes seemed out of focus. He flipped and found a picture of a pretty teenage girl, who was smiling, and waving happily, holding a broom and wearing Gryffindor Quidditch robes.  
"In Loving Memory of Julia Christine Jenkins" Hermione read. "Do you think she's related to the professor?" Harry shrugged and began to flip through the yearbook.  
He found a picture of his parents a few pages later, as head boy and girl. Harry swallowed fiercely. He continued flipping, not really paying much attention...until he found a large picture under the heading 'The Halloween Dance'.  
His parents. But not just his parents. They were in the center, holding hands. Next to James (costumed as an elf) was Sirius (costumed as an axe murderer), his arms wrapped around the waist of a pretty witch (costumed as someone murdered with an axe) with short, dark hair and a devilish smile. Peter (costumed as an ancient socerer) standing next to them, smiling like a maniac. On his mothers right (She was a sprite) was Remus Lupin (costumed as a prince), his arm around the shoulders of the witch he had seen at the front of the book...Julia Jenkins (costumed as a princess). Next to her were two more witches, who were sticking there tongues out and generally looking very happy. One (costumed as the devil) had long blonde hair and green eyes. The other (costumed as a cat), wavy auburn hair and peircing blue eyes. Then another couple, a witch with dark, sparkly hair (costumed as a phoenix) holding hands with a handsome looking wizard (costumed as Peter Pan) with a dopey smile on his face.  
"Here's their names!" Hermione said, pointing to words written under the picture. "From left to right, Peter Pettigrew, Crystal Jenkins, Sirius Black, James Potter, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Julia Jenkins, Miranda Himalia, Topanga Topinside, Rhiannon Romandle, and Charles Granite. Hey! See that girl with Sirius?" She said excitedly, pointing.  
"Yeah." Harry said, not taking his eyes off his parents.  
"That's our Dark Arts professor!" She exclaimed.  
"JENKINS!" Harry said laughing. They enjoyed laughing over the rest of the yearbook, finding several more pictures of Sirius and Jenkins, most with some sort of innappropriate comment from James, Remus, or Peter.  
  
That night Harry had another extremely vivid dream with Ron in it. He was standing outside of a semi-circle of people, who were lit up by the fire. Ron was sitting next to the blonde girl, Draco Malfoy on her other side and Ginny next to Ron. Sirius and Jenkins were there as well. They were talking and laughing and generally looking as if they were having a wonderful time.  
Harry desperately wanted to get into the circle and be with them, but, try as he might, there seemed to be some sort of invisible wall seperating them. Harry looked up desperately, and saw another person in the cold shadows, trying desperatly to get inside. Hermione.  
Harry woke up breathing hard. He went down to the common room and was surprised to find Hermione sitting in an armchair staring into the fire.  
"Can't sleep?" Harry said. She turned around.  
"No." She said. "I had a dream. There was Ron, Ginny, Draco Malfoy, Sirius, Professor Jenkins, and some blonde chic..." 


	15. Of Funerals, Fireworks, and Werewolves

A/N: Just a quick note. For the first time, like, since this story began, I have ALL the chapters up that I have written! It'a a MIRACLE! Lol, okay, here's ch15! Enjoy, read, and (of course) Reveiw! ^_^!  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Fifteen  
Of Funerals, Fireworks, and Werewolves  
  
Ginny and Draco left in the early afternoon after promising Harmony that they would come back on their next Hogsmeade weekend. Ron didn't look to thrilled with the idea of Draco's return, but relunctantly agreed, for Ginny's sake. He pulled Draco aside.  
"Malfoy." He said in a low and threatening voice. "You break her heart, I'll break you." Malfoy's eyebrows raised as if he doubted it, but he nodded nonetheless. Ginny was oblivious to this little conversation, and was deeply immersed in conversation with Sirius.  
"She reminds me of Kitty." Sirius said, watching them go.  
"Me too." Crystal said. She kissed Sirius. "I'd better go too," And she followed them into the trees.  
"Who's Kitty?" Harmony asked curiously.  
"Long story."  
"We've got time." Ron said.....  
  
  
The day before classes were due to begin, yet another mysterious package arrived for Harry. At first Hermione thought it was from Sirius, but then she realized that she didn't recognize the writing on the package.  
"Harry?" She said cautiously. "This came for you." Harry took it curiously.  
"Who's it from?" He asked.  
"Dunno..." Hermione replied, peering over his shoulder. Harry studied the package and gasped, his eyes opened wide.  
"What, WHAT?!" Hermione said anxiously.  
"It's from....Aunt Petunia." Harry said in a voice faint with shock. Hermione's eyes opened wide.   
"What's the note say?" She asked. Harry opened it and read it aloud for her benifit.  
"'Harry-This was gift from your mother. ~Your Aunt'. Short and Sweet." Harry said. "I wonder why SHE would send me something of my mother's."  
"I don't want to know 'why' I want to know 'what'! Open it, Harry!" Hermione coaxed. Harry carefully opened the parcel and the box, and carefully pulled out it's contents.   
A unicorn. A unicorn carved from some sort of crystal. Hermione was transfixed. Lily must have really loved unicorns, it was obvious that it had cost a fortune.  
"Why would Petunia give me this?" Harry asked, his emerald eyes wide at the   
beautiful figure of his mother's unicorn.  
"I have no idea." Hermione said honestly. They were gearing up for a conversation on the subject when Professor McGonagall entered, looking incredibly solomn.  
"Potter, Weasley, Granger, please come with me." She said. Harry and Hermione rose, a feeling of foreboding bubbling up in the pit of Hermione's stomach. Ginny followed them.  
"You are all very aware of the efforts that have gone into finding Ron Weasley." McGonagall said, sounding very tired, once they were safely in her office. "And after all these weeks we haven't found so much as a speck of a lead that might lead to his return. It's time to face reality." She sighed heavily and swallowed. "Mr. Weasley's funeral is to take place on January the 12. The Weasleys have asked that you, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, prepare a eulogy. You can go." Shocked, Harry and Hermione stood, and Ginny followed suit, staring off into space once again. As they turned to go, McGonagall's hand shot out and landed on Harry's arm. "Not you Potter, I need you for another moment." With that and a quizzical look from Hermione, the girls left.  
"I hate to pile more bad news on you, Potter." McGonagall said, and Harry could've sworn there was a tear of sympathy sliding down her cheek.. "But we got a letter from Privet Drive today." She handed him an envelope. "Your aunt was found dead. The motive was discovered to be suicide."  
  
And, once again, Harry and Hermione were, in almost every sense, dead. Ron's funeral....that sealed their last ray of hope. Ginny was...well...Hermione wasn't paying much attention to Ginny, but she knew she was very upset. The evening of January 12 arrived, and Harry and Hermione went onto the lawn of the grounds hand in hand.  
* * *  
Ron was bored. Bored, bored, bored, bored. He wandered up to the balcony, and was   
surprised when Harmony was suddenly floating in front of him, seated on her carpet. She landed it and stood next to Ron, looking out at the blazing sunset.  
"What are you thinking?" Harmony asked.  
"That I really miss Hogwarts." Ron replied. Harmony sighed. "What?"  
"You and Sirius are always talking about Hogwarts. I want to SEE it." She said. Ron suddenly grinned, his eyes alight.  
"Do you?" He asked. He hopped onto the carpet. "Then let's go." He extended his hand, which Harmony accepted. She got on.  
"We're going to be in so much trouble if we're caught." She said.  
"That's why we won't be." Ron replied, heading north with a smile on his face.  
* * *  
"He was the best friend I ever had, and the one of the bravest people I've ever met, and I don't think any of us will ever forget him." Hermione concluded. By this point her tears were flowing freely, and a few had escaped Harry as well. There was a little round of applause, but most of the student body and friends of the Weasleys weren't really paying attention. They were here to greive for Ron.  
That wasn't the reason Ginny Weasley wasn't paying attention, however. She was simply pondering how she got herself into this mess. Here she was, at her brother's funeral, when she had seen him only a few weeks ago, and knew for a fact that he was alive and well. It was the strangest experience of her life.  
She looked up, and saw something dart across the full moon. Something that looked strangely like two people on a flying carpet....But weren't those illegal in England?  
* * *  
Harmony gasped aloud. Ron grinned.  
Hogwarts was more beautiful than she could've ever imagined. It's spirals and towers held a beuaty that it's duplicate in Marigold could never even hope to posses. It was bathed with moonlight, and the stars were twinkling merrily.  
Still, the Slytherin blood in her held a certain fear of this particular castle. She pushed it aside, trying to focus on the awe inspiring Hogwarts, and, of course, her boyfriend.  
"Let's land over there." He said, point to the South Tower.  
"On the TOP of it?" Harmony asked, laughing.  
"Of course." He said, as if explaining that 2 and 2 were 4.  
"Ron, look out!" She said, pointing to the side of the castle. They missed the stone by inches, and went zooming upward.  
"I did that on purpose." He said smugly.  
"Whatever." She said. They reached the top of the tower. They landed, and Ron leaned over and kissed her gently.  
* * *  
Harry was staring into space, trying to console Hermione, who was sobbing loudly. She softened and looked up as Dumbledore stood.  
"Another young and healthy life stolen as Lord Voldemort rises once again to power." He said gravely. "Ronald Weasley was brave and passionate, and all who knew him will carry his essence for the rest of their lives. He once jokingly said to his elder brothers that he wanted fireworks at his funeral, and so we honor this request."  
As Dumbledore sat down, a brilliant fireworks display started up.  
* * *  
Ron and Harmony were rudely interrupted in the middle of their kissing by an explosion. They turned and Harmony's eyes lighted up.  
Fireworks. A display such as Harmony had never seen before. She sat watching them. She turned to say something to Ron, but paused. He had a half-smile on his face, but it was obvious that he was very sad.  
"Ron? What's wrong?" Harmony asked, concerned.  
"I once told Fred and George that I wanted fireworks at my funeral." Ron said, not staring up at the colorful display, but down at the ground.  
"Oh..." Harmony said, she looked down, and saw a gathering of hundreds of people. Ron's funeral.  
Ron gulped, looking as though he wanted to fly down there and shout 'Look, it's me! I'm here!' Harmony couldn't stand looking at his face when it was like that. She took his hand and started to sing softly. Ron leaned his head on her shoulder, and when she looked down she saw the streaks of teardrops slowly running down his face.  
* * *  
Harry was listening and watching the fireworks, only knowing that he felt empty, when he heard it. That voice. The one he had heard on Halloween. He was sure it was the same one, the same feeling of soft breath on angels wings.  
Harry sighed, and shifted his weight. While still empty in an unexplainable way, the song seemed to be, temporaraly at least, filling him. It was obvious that Hermione, whose sobbing was only second to that of Mrs. Weasley, did not hear the voice.  
* * *  
"Do you want to go home?" Harmony asked.  
"Which one?" Ron croaked, not taking his eyes off what was obviously the casket.  
"Marigold." Harmony whispered. She had a terrible feeling of guilt. If it weren't for HER, Ron would be in Hogwarts, and this funeral would've never happened. (Of course, Harmony didn't know about the Voldemort's plan to kidnap Ron...) She thought that she was just keeping Ron away from those that he loved, simply for herself. Slytherin till the end of time.  
"Okay." Ron said, standing up. They got on the carpet and zoomed off into the night. Draco and Ginny were both puzzling why they kept seeing illegal flying carpets dash across the sky.  
"Well," Harmony said as they entered their clearing. That was--"  
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"   
"Uh-oh..." Ron said. They turned to face whoever had caught them. Sirius.  
"Why didn't you take ME?!" He demanded, grinning. Ron let out a sigh of relief, and Harmony giggled.  
"Sorry, Sirius." She said.  
"You'd better be." Sirius replied. "So, where were you?"  
"Hogwarts." Ron said nonchalantly.  
"Really?" Sirius said. "I got a letter from Crystal. Your...er...funeral is taking place right now, Ron." He looked rather uncomfortable.  
"Yeah, we know." Harmony said, biting her lip. Sirius wisely decided not to press the subject.  
"Let's head back shall we?" He said. Harmony nodded and turned to Ron. He was looking back in the direction of Hogwarts, his face turned so that Harmony couldn't read the expression. However, she knew that he had that same longing look he had earlier.  
"Ron?" She said, nudging him. He turned and nodded.  
"So..." Sirius said awkardly, trying to fill the silence that had descended between them. "Crystal said she might be able to sneak out for a few hours tonight. Maybe we could--"  
"Ssshhh!" Harmony hissed, putting a finger to her mouth. She held out a hand motioning for them to cease movement. Then they heard it too. A scream. A woman's scream. A woman running their way.  
"HELP ME! HELP ME!" The voice cried. The woman it belonged to ran right into Sirius.  
"Mindy?!" Sirius said in disbeleif. "What's wrong?!"   
"REMUS! Loose! Bit..." And then the blonde passed out. It was then that Ron noticed the blood poring from her right arm, and the large bite marks there.  
"A werewolf!" Ron cried, going pale.  
"I'll handle this." Sirius said, taking his canine form. He motioned for Ron and Harmony to leave, with the blonde Sirius called Mindy. Ron turned to Harmony, but she was staring into the woods where Mindy had just run from, and listening to the fast approaching werewolf-formerly-known-as-Remus.  
"Harmony!" Ron said, grabbing her arm. "Let's GO!" But she refused to move. Ron looked up, and his eyes widened at the sight of the werewolf. He bounded toward the two.  
"Premorf Sumer!" Harmony cried, and a jet of white light hit the wolf. It crumpled and began to shake violently. Then it shrunk, assuming the form of Remus Lupin.  
"Harmony?" Ron said in awe.  
"Where did you learn that spell?" Sirius demanded. Harmony shrugged, her blue eyes open wide. She seemed just as shocked as either of her two companions.  
"I don't know," She said. I just KNEW it."  
"Slytherin created werewolves." Ron said quietly. There was a pause, then a groan.  
"Moony?" Sirius said anxiously. He helped Remus to his feet.  
"Wh...what?" Remus said groggily. He looked up at the moon, and his eyes open wide.  
"SIRIUS! GET OUT THE HELL OUT OF HERE! I'LL BE TRANSFORMING ANY MINUTE!" He yelled, panicked.  
"Take it easy, Moony." Sirius said, but Remus was getting out of control.  
"Stupefy!" And yet again, a jet of light from Harmony's wand struck Remus, and he crumpled.   
"Was that REALLY necissary?" Sirius said exasperatedly.  
"Yes." Harmony said. She magiked him and Mindy onto a stretcher.  
"Why don't we erase their memories and send them to Hogwarts?" Ron suggested. Harmony looked at him in disbelief."NO, Ron!" She cried. "She's been bit by a WEREWOLF! Now she'll be a werewolf too, if she doesn't get some treatment."  
"Treatment?" Ron said.  
"Of COURSE!" She said, rolling her eyes. "We have that in Marigold. She won't be a werewolf if she gets treatment before the moon sets. Let's GO!" Ron followed Sirius, Harmony, and the two on stretchers a bit slower. Ron wasn't sure that he trusted "Mindy", and he CERTAINLY didn't trust Draco. What if they told Harry that he wasn't dead? What if they brought Harry to Marigold?  
"Ron!" Harmony called. "Hurry up back there!" 


	16. Of Grudges, Giggles, and Unicorns

A/N Hey guys! I *finally* finished this ch. It took me forever. I think this is the longest one yet. Well, enjoy, and read/reveiw!!!  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Sixteen  
Of Grudges, Giggles, and Unicorns  
  
"Remus?" Miranda Himalia said groggily, attempting to open an eye. She couldn't remember anything, and only knew that her right arm hurt horribly.  
She sat up and gasped suddenly as she remembered everything. She looked around frantincally, and found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. It looked like...but it couldn't be....the Hogwarts hospital wing?  
"Remus?" She said again, trying to sit up. She heard someone bustle in, and laid down, shutting her eyes, resolving herself to Madame Pomfrey's meddlesome questions.  
"Are you okay, Mindy?" A male voice said anxiously.  
"Sirius?" She said, opening her eyes in surprise. She sat up again.  
"Lay down, you're gonna have one hell of a bruise." Sirius said, forcing her down.  
"What...how...?"  
"I'll explain when Remus gets up." Sirius said, and then the turned as the heard a groan from the other side of the room.  
"Mindy?" An exhausted voice said.  
"I'm right here." She said, trying to stand up. But Sirius pushed her back down.  
"Harmony!" He called. "They're awake!" Miranda, known to her friends as Mindy, watched as the doors opened and a beautiful teenage girl walked in. Her hair was blonde and wavy, and long. Really long. It went down to her ankles. Mindy, who thought her waist length hair was long, was impressed. She was followed by another teenager, a boy with red hair and freckles. Where did she know him from?   
A lightbulb clicked in Mindy's head. Ronald Weasley. The missing boy. The one who's funeral was an hour ago. The one Remus INSISTED on attending because Ron was his former student. What was he doing HERE with Sirius and the girl with the really long blonde hair called Harmony in a room that looked suspiciously like the Hogwarts Hospital wing?  
"RON?!" Remus said, standing up and striding over to Ron before Sirius could force him into lying down. Remus stopped in shock before the red head. Harmony's eyebrows were raised, and she was shaking with silent laughter as Remus began to poke at Ron, as if to make sure he was really there.  
"Hold on, go back, REWIND!" Mindy said, also standing up and ignoring Sirius spluttering protests. "Isn't he...dead?"  
"Well, that's what Crystal told me." Remus replied, his eyes still twice their normal circumference. Mindy rolled her green eyes.  
"Like you can beleive anything SHE says." Mindy said grumpily. Sirius shot her a Look, then raised his eyes to the ceiling.  
"Oh Lord..." He muttered under his breath.  
"Could I PLEASE get an explanation here?" She said.  
"Well..." And, 45 minutes, many interruptions, one scream, and six gasps later, Miranda Himalia and Remus Lupin were added to the list of humans in on the Marigold Maurauder's little secret.   
"So..." Harmony said. "Why are YOU two out and about on a full moon?"  
"Actually, Remus wanted to go to Ron's funeral--"  
"You did?" Ron said in surprise, looking at his former Dark Arts professor.  
"Well, you had been a student, you knew about Sirius, your best friends with James' son, we thought you were killed by Voldemort...A hell of a lot of people were there." Remus said, shrugging.  
"Anywho," Mindy continued, rolling her eyes. " We WERE going to stay until the sun was nearly down, then get to the shrieking shack, but we didn't get there in time..."  
"Why didn't you transform?" Sirius demanded.  
"You're an animagus too?" Harmony said in surprise. Mindy nodded.  
"I'm a parrot!" She siad happily.  
"Just when we thought we were gonna get rid of her mindless chitter chatter, she became something that talked." Sirius said, sighing.  
"Shut UP, Padfoot!" Mindy said flirtatiously, hitting Sirius on the arm playfully. If Harmony had done that to Harry, Ron wouldn't have been to happy, but Remus didn't seem to have a problem with it.  
"No, YOU shut up, Squak!" He replied.  
"Now, now, children, play nice." Remus said, grinning a true Maurauder grin, encouraging them further.  
"Well, I think--" Sirius began, but he was interrupted by the loudest pair of screams Ron had ever heard.  
"OH MY GOD, WHAT IS *SHE* DOING HERE?!" Two female voice screamed. One was Mindy, pointing to the door. And the other, standing at the door, was...Crystal.  
"Uh oh," Remus muttered under his breath.  
"You can say that again." Sirius replied.  
"Uh oh." He said, again.  
"Um...did I miss something here?" Harmony asked, looking from one furious female face to the next.  
"Sirius, I DEMAND an explanation from you. NOW!" Crystal screamed.  
"Did you plan this?" Mindy demanded of Remus.  
"Um, well, uh...surprise?" Sirius said, grinning sheepishly at Crystal.  
"Too little, too late." Crystal said. Ron inched away from the elder generation, clearly afraid that Crystal and Mindy were going to kill whatever stood in the way of each other.  
"Um, excuse me?" Harmony said. "I hate to interrupted this happy reunion, but these carpets were just cleaned yesterday, and I don't want blood spilled on them."  
"I'm not spilling any blood!" Mindy said, sounding horrified. "Strangulation is more effecient, and it won't ruin my NAILS!"  
"Oh, God forbid anyone ruin your precious nails." Crystal replied, very sarcastically.   
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Remus roared, standing up in between Crystal and Mindy. "Mindy, Crystal, you have been feuding for twenty years now. TWENTY YEARS! GET OVER IT AND GET A LIFE!"   
"No." They said in unison, then returning to throwing daggers at each other around Remus. Sirius sighed.  
"Ron, you take Crystal to her room, and I'll find a room for Mindy."  
"And Remus." Harmony said matter-of-factly. "I'll take him to the 5th floor corrider room, shall I?"  
"Yeah, I'm SURE Remus wants to sleep in the Charms classroom." Harmony rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Sirius, taking Remus's arm and leading him outside, following Ron and Crystal.  
"What is UP with those two?" Harmony asked, as soon as Crystal and Ron had turned left and were out of earshot. Remus rolled his eyes.  
"No one really knows." He said. "All I know is that is has something to do with Julia." Harmony knew a little bit about Julia from Sirius's accounts of his Hogwarts days. She would've pressed Remus for more, but he looked rather uncomfortable with the subject, and they were at the room anyhow.  
"Well, goodnight." She said, forcing the words to come out in English. Usually, in Marigold, you said goodnight in Nightengale. Remus nodded and collapsed into his bed. Being a werewolf was exhausting. His sleep was deep and dreamless.  
However, Mindy's sleep was not. She was running down the streets of Hogsmeade, which was in total and complete chaos. The Dark Mark was hovering in the sky, and there were people crying. Mindy ran through the streets shouting a name.  
Julia. That was the name. Even in sleep Mindy felt a sharp pain in her chest at the mention of the name, but the pain increased when suddenly, in her dream, Julia was standing in front of her. People ran around and by them, but they seemed unable to see the apparition of the seventh year Gryffindor.  
"Mindy," Julia said. "Why are you crying?" It was then that Mindy was aware of the tears rolling down her cheecks.  
"Becuase," She heard herself say, her voice sounding distant and surreal to her own ears. "You're dead." Julia smiled.  
"Not really, Mindy, just taking a vacation. And, trust me, heaven is GORGEOUS, better than the bahamas. Seriously, though, it's okay to cry, as long as you don't get all stubborn on me." Julia crossed her arms, giving Mindy a hard stare.  
"What?" Mindy said uneasily, starting to squirm.  
"You KNOW what I'm talking about, Miranda. Leave Crystal alone."  
"Well it's not MY fault, you know!" Mindy said, a bit louder than necissary. "SHE started it!"  
"I know, and I'll be talking to her as well. Now, YOU TWO WILL QUIT FIGHTING! End of story." And, before Mindy could object, she suddenly awoke, vividly remembering her dream.  
Two stories lower, Crystal was running through a chaotic Hogsmeade when an apparition of Julia appeared...  
  
"Pass the salt, please, Miranda." Crystal said, attempting to force the contempt from her voice. It's hard to be civil to someone you have been fighting with for 20 years. But, Crystal would do anything for her sister.  
"Of course," Mindy said, also in an obviously fake voice.  
"Thank you."  
"You're welcome." Sirius raised his eyebrows at the two of them, and shot a questioning look at Remus. 'Did you do this?' He mouthed. Remus shook his head, obviously mystified. They continued with their breakfast, until Sirius saw a spider scurry across the ground. He started to laugh so hard that he fell right off his chair. Harmony, Ron, Remus, Crystal, and Mindy all stared at him as if he were going crazy, which they obviously thought that he was.  
"Remus," Sirius panted. "Do you remember the time that we set the spiders loose on the Slytherin train compartment in sixth year?"  
"OMIGOD!" Mindy said, a grin and a giggle starting to form. "I remember that!" She started laughing, and soon Remus and Crystal caught on as well. Harmony and Ron continued to stare, mystified. This started an all out 'Do you remember...?" from the Hogwarts days of the 70's. Ron and Harmony slipped out of the room while no one was looking, disgusted.  
"Do you remember when my dad showed up at Christmas seventh year?" Sirius said, crying with mirth.  
"Oh, you gave him SUCH a lecture," Mindy replied, gasping between giggles. Crystal attempted to say something and disolved into another fit of giggles, collapsing on Mindy for support. Mindy, likewise, was leaning on Crystal. Remus broke out of the laughing fit long enough to stare at Sirius, who likewise had temporarily chosen breathing over laughter. Mindy and...Crystal? Getting along?  
And with that, they started laughing even harder than they had before.   
  
"Draco?" Ginny hissed, her cheeks on fire from the cold. "Draco, are you here?" She was at the place they had already agreed to meet at Hogsmeade, and even though she was late (Harry and Hermione had been very curious on why she was going to Hogsmeade the day after Ron's funeral when her entire family was at the castle, but she had finally managed to convince them that she needed privacy) there was no sign of Draco anywhere.   
"Draco Malfoy, if you don't--" But she was cut off as she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and pull her under a cloak. She looked, and finally saw him...standing right by where she had been.  
"What the heck?" She said, avoiding the word her brother would've used.  
"It's an invisibility cloak." Draco said smugly.  
"I kinda figured that out." Ginny said.  
"You don't sound impressed." Draco replied, sounding hurt.  
"I'm not." She said.  
"Why?" Draco questioned defensively. "You don't know anyone with one of these."  
"Wanna bet?" Ginny demanded.  
"Who?" Draco asked, sincerely curiuos.  
"Harry Potter." She replied, tossing her hair as if this were ancient news.  
"WHAT?!" Draco shouted, his eyes widening. "Where did POTTER get one of these?"   
"His father left it to him." Ginny said coldly, warning him not to press the subject. So Draco swallowed his questions and they walked into the forest, using the map Harmony had drawn for them to help them find their way back to Marigold.  
"GINNY!" Harmony squealed, running forward to hug Ron's younger sister. They hugged, and Ron, who had come up behind Harmony, rolled his eyes. Those two had become rather attached to each other in the short time they had known each other.   
"Miss Weasley?" Came a awed voice. "Mr. Malfoy? What are you doing here?"  
Ginny looked up to see Remus Lupin, her defense teacher from second year, coming up the path with Sirius, Professor Jenkins, and a blond woman she didn't recognize.  
"Hey, I didn't know you two would be down here today." Crystal said.  
"Okay, let's make sure everybody knows everybody else." Sirius said. "Who doesn't know who?"  
"We don't know her." Draco said, gesturing to blond.  
"Miranda Himalia, at your sevice." The woman said, bowing down ridiculously low and then popping up again so fast that Draco thought it must hurt. "Call me Mindy, 'Miranda' is just toooo long."   
"Uh-huh." Draco replied, looking as though he were rather afraid for her sanity. Ginny nudged him in the ribs.  
"Ginny Weasley." She said, smiling warmly, and holding out her hand. Mindy shook it, giggling for reasons unknown. Draco noticed Lupin snickering, Jenkins rolling her eyes, and Black coughing loudly.   
"Anyway," Harmony said, rolling her eyes at her elders. There was something about them all together that made all of them (well, maybe not Crystal...) seem immature. "I have an idea that I think you'll all enjoy."  
"Oooo, what, what, what?" Ginny asked. It looked as though she had had too much sugar for breakfast. Harmony laughed.  
"C'mon." She replied mysteriously, motioning for them all to follow. They complied out of curoisity.  
They all wound up in front of a small brown building.  
"What IS this?" Draco demanded. Harmony rolled her eyes.  
"It's a stable." She said, as if this were obvious.   
"Where are all the horses?" Ron said, genuinely curious.  
"Horses?" Harmony said, confusing them on purpose. "Who said anything horses?" Trying very hard not to laugh, she pushed open the door.   
The basic layout of the 'stable' was awing enough. Even though it looked about the size of a large living room from the outside, when you went inside it was like an endless green prarie with no fences and always a sunny day in May. But that was not what was so shocking.  
Unicorns. Seven shimmering silver unicorns. They galloped around the feild, making a noise that sounded strangely like a child's laughter. Harmony's companions stared in awe. Harmony, smiling, made a noise that sounded like whatever the unicorns were 'saying'. Ron was amazed that he could hear what she was saying.  
"Aurora!" She called. "Aurora!"  
A tall, radiant mare trotted over to Harmony.  
"Yes, Harmony?" The unicorn asked. Everyone else (excepting Sirius and Ron, of course) watched on in complete and utter confusion.  
"I'd like to introduce these good people to unicorn riding." Harmony said, looking fondly upon the seven humans who accompanied her. Maybe it was a trick of the bright sunlight, but it looked as if the unicorn, Aurora, had...raised her eyebrows...?  
"Let humans...ride us?" She said skeptically. Harmony rolled her eyes.  
"C'mon Aurora," Harmony whined. "Two of them are accepted. Please?" She looked at the unicorn with pleading blue eyes.  
"You win, as usual." She said, laughing. Harmony grinned.  
"Thanks a mil, Aurora." She replied, winking.   
"Okay, who shall ride who... hmm..." Aurora said, looking the humans over. "There's eight of you. Two will have to ride together."  
"I'm sure Draco and Ginny won't mind." Harmony replied.  
"Just one second!" Ron interrupted, but Harmony put up a hand to silence him.   
"They're the lightest couple!" Harmony exclaimed. And turned to Aurora before Ron could do any more protesting. No doubt Draco would have made some kind of sarcastic remark if he could understand what was being said.  
"Okay, I'll give them Cupid." Aurora said, summoning to a large stallion, who promptly galloped over and stood next to Draco and Ginny, much to thier surprise."  
"From here it will be easy. Diana, you get the blonde. Icicle, the dark haired one. No, no, the woman. Okay, Wildfire, Sirius. Of course we know your name, Mr. Black. And Honor, the brown haired man."   
"Who am I riding?" Ron asked, looking around at the others, all of whom but   
Sirius were looking very confused.  
"Don't worry, young Firehair." Aurora said. "Osiris! Get over here!" The seventh and final unicorn, a dignified stallion, trotted over to Ron. Harmony promptly swung onto Aurora.  
"Okay, everyone!" She said, speaking English once agian. "Meet your unicorns for today. Ginny and Draco, you will both be riding Cupid. Just get on. That's the ticket. Miranda, yours is named Diana. Crystal, you have Icicle. Remus, that's Honor. And you two already know the names." She made this last comment to Sirius and Ron, both of whom were already astride their unicorns. Then the eight of them left the stable via the still open door, and trotted off into the forest.  
The Forbidden Forest was beautiful in the winter. Diamond-like snow covered the ground. At first the party stayed together, but eventually they began to split up...in couples of course. Unicorns have a very good sense of love between other beings.   
Ginny and Draco, being on the same unicorn, hardly even slowed down once out of sight and earshot of the others. Draco wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist, and she leaned her head against his should, her fiery hair flying out behind them.   
"I feel like I'm in a dream." She said, turning slightly to face Draco, her hair now blowing around his face. "Like this is all too good to be true."  
"But it is true, Ginny." He whispered, sending shivers up her spine that had nothing to do with the snow all around her. He kissed her gently, and the cold went away.  
Cupid, bless his unicorn heart, slowed down ever so slightly and was careful that they didn't bump their heads on the overhanging branches.  
  
Wildfire and Icicle slowed to a walk, allowing Sirius and Crystal to hold hands.  
"I wish we could have done this as teenagers." Crystal said, sighing.  
"I still feel like I'm a teenager when I'm around Harmony and Ron." Sirius said, laughing softly. "I always do, actually. Except when I'm thinking about Harry. I don't know what to DO, Crystal. I feel like I can't be there for him, and he's never had ANYONE there. I just wish..." Sirius sighed, and Crystal looked up at him sympathetically.  
"I know." She said. "Everything's going to be okay. Just...relax for a change. You never got this worried over James."  
"James was my best friend, not my godson." Sirius replied, rolling his eyes. But Crystal just smiled.  
"Harry is James in miniature. Except that James wasn't internationally famous for always being mortal peril. But if he had been, don't you think he could've handled it?"  
"Harry's childhood was much worse than James's."  
"Yes, and Harry is all the stronger for it." Crystal said, and to that Sirius had no arguement. Crystal grinned.  
"Admit it, Sirius. C'mon...."  
"Okay, okay!" Sirius sighed. "You're right." Crystal giggled, and leaned over the now almost non-existant gap between them and kissed him softly on the lips.  
"That's a good puppy." She said, and galloped off laughing, as Sirius chased her in mock indignation.  
  
Poor Honor was very restless, and really couldn't stay on course. While Diana, Mindy's unicorn, let her ride like the wind, Remus's poor unicorn was very nervous. He knew, of course, that the being astride him was not a human, but a werewolf. Remus also knew that Honor knew this, and so he and Mindy decided to get off and let the unicorns walk behind for a while. That's when Honor decided he liked the werewold as a human; he understood.  
"I feel like a princess." Mindy said, looking around at the forest that had scared her so much in her youth and that she now was falling in love with.  
"Does that make me your prince?" Remus replied, raising his eyebrows and trying not to laugh. Mindy went ahead and let the laughter out, as she always did.  
"I suppose so." She replied in a thoughtful tone. Remus picked up the small trace of an Australian accent that no one else could. But that was becuase for years, Mindy's move to Australia had been constantly on his mind...especially after she had been married. However, she was back now. Remus said nothing, but he knew that, however much she loved him, Mindy would never forget Wes. He pushed it out of his mind.  
"I propose we stay in this forest forever." He said, with mock solomnety. Mindy laughed, and so did Remus.  
"In this snow?" She demanded through giggles.  
"Sure, why not?" He replied. He was in a 'why not' mood, something rare for the most serious of the Marauders. Even James and Sirius could not make Remus feel as carefree as he did with Mindy.  
"Becuase...then THIS would happen!" And without further warning, and much to Remus's surprise, she shoved snow in his face and took off running.  
"Oh no you don't!" He cried, quickly packing a snowball and hurling it after her, which she ducked. He ran after her, quickly catching up and pulling her down into the snowbank, laughing like a pair of innocent teenagers who have never felt the pain of loss or sorrow or lonliness as these two so painfully had.  
  
Ron and Harmony rode in silence, simply being comfortable together. Even their unicorns, Aurora and Osiris, were silent.  
"I never want to leave." Ron said abruptly. Harmony turned toward him, stifling a giggle.  
"Of course not, why would you?" She asked.  
"I don't mean the woods and the unicorns and all this other mushy stuff!" He replied, much to the mirth of Harmony, who nearly fell off her unicorn in mirth. Ron was the dreamer of the Weasley family, and liked all this 'mushy stuff' more than any of his older brothers, and perhaps even as much as his sister.  
"You don't, eh?" She asked, once she righted herself onto Aurora, who was sniffing in a disapproving way.  
"No, I mean Marigold. I never want to leave. I want to stay here forever...with you." He had been looking straight ahead, but with this he turned and looked into Harmony's perfect blue eyes. Blushing, she looked away.  
"And you said you weren't into all that mushy stuff," She said, trying not to make it how obvious how very flattered she was.  
"No Harmony, I'm serious. I wish I could stay here forever. But..."  
"Your family, Harry, Hermione. I understand, Ron." Harmony replied, trying to sound comforting, but really panicking inside. It had never occured to her that Ron would leave.  
"I just...I wish there was a way I could be with them and you, without having to choose." He said, looking back down at the unicorn's mane.   
They rode on for a few more moments, when both unicorns abruptly stopped. Harmony and Ron looked up, amazed to see how far from Marigold they had come. The trees were thinning, and through them they could see the looming shape of the great Hogwarts Castle. From this perspective the Slytherin fear in Harmony was awoken even more, and she turned away. Then, suddenly, an idea struck her.  
"Ron, maybe there is a way." She said brightly. He turned and looked over at her. "I mean, you were accepted into Marigold through...some...tests. So maybe, if I passed something of the same sort, my father would accept my participation in the Human world. And maybe even the rest of us!" Ron smiled at her.  
"That might work actually...with a lot of planning...but what would you do for a test?" He replied, as if asking her a riddle.  
Harmony turned her face from her boyfriend to the giant castle that loomed over her, frowning down at where she sat astride the silver unicorn, and she shivered in it's shadow. She gulped, suddenly realizing what she would have to do...  
"Simple," She said, turning back to Ron. "I'll go to Hogwarts for a few weeks." 


	17. Of Potions, Professors, and LongLost Fam...

A/N At first, this was just the beginning of a chapter, but it developed a mind of his own, and it just became...a lot longer than intended, and I realized that if I tried to add the other FOUR major events I had planned for this chapter, it would be faaaaaaaar too long.   
  
So here it is! Coming Soon: Chapter 18!...VALENTINE'S DAY! Our favorite couples...and one of our favorite Marauders gets SOO drunk...but not who you think...  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Seventeen  
Of Professors, Potions, and Long-lost Family  
  
Severus Snape hated going to the Death Eater meetings. They were cold and a bit scary in the least if you actually WERE a Death Eater, but as a spy for Dumbledore, they were absolutely terrifying.  
  
Fortunately for the Potions master, he was very good at keeping his cool under pressure. Voldie and the gang had been convinced that he was on their side for the three years Severus had taken up spying again.  
  
He was, of course very relieved when the grim crowd was released from the Dark Lord's company. Another meeting, and he still lived.  
  
Maybe.  
  
"Snape!" Voldemort hissed, just as he turned to disapperate.  
  
"Yes, Master?" Severus replied, turning and lifting his masked face. Voldemort's lips curled, as if he knew this reference was bull. Severus prayed that he didn't.  
  
"Stay." He commanded.  
  
"Yes, Master," He replied, not betraying the growing panic and fear. There was a reason behind this statement, and Severus had a feeling he didn't want to know what it was.  
  
And it didn't calm him that Lucius also remained.  
  
"Did you really think you could fool us, Severus?" Voldemort hissed. Severus's eyes widened in the realization of the signifigance of this statement and the sudden attack of fear.  
  
"What do you mean, Master?" Severus replied, trying desperately to keep up his act.  
  
"You know perfectly well what I mean. Confession would be easier." Voldemort replied. Severus stared back. Well, at least he was going down a hero. Oh my God, I sound like my brother, Severus realized in horror. As if reading his thoughts, Voldie sneered and lifted his wand.  
  
"Veritanuit!" He hissed, and the Dark Truth curse hit Severus like a locomotive. He could feel himself being ripped opened, and telling them everything.  
  
But knowing it was over, Severus couldn't even feel the pain. He was watching, from a third person point of veiw. He briefly wondered if anyone would care of his death. He had no family to speak of...well, except for him, but he wouldn't notice...not that Severus could blame him.  
  
Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it maliciously at him.  
  
"Hello, Severus," A beautiful voice said. He looked up and saw a beautiful woman with long, wavy auburn hair and a smile. She extended a hand to him. "Come with me."  
  
Suddenly the distant and dull pain and the weariness and depression and hatred of Severus's life left him in a flash of green light. He was happy now, as he hadn't been in years.  
  
"I would've suspected something long and torturous, my Lord," Lucius said, looking at Voldemort questioningly.  
  
"The last time I killed him that way, he lived." The Dark Lord hissed. Severus laughed, and put his arm around Julia Jenkins. They turned, and disappeared into the light and Lily and James's outstetched arms of greeting.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"It's not a bad idea." Shinra said, stroking his chin. Harmony allowed herself to expel the carbon dioxide that had been building in her lungs in relief. He agreed.  
  
Ron was behaving in quite a peculiar fashion. He was looking down at the ground and didn't even stir when the king said this.  
  
"It will take a lot of planning, of course." He said. "And we probably won't be able to get you there for a few months..."  
  
"Thank you, Daddy!" Harmony interrupted, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. Shinra's eyes widened in amazement. Ron looked up, and his weird mood seemed to pass as he began to laugh.  
  
'You never know what a Slytherin's going to do.' Harry had said once. How right he was.  
  
"C'mon, Ron!" She bubbled happily, taking Ron's hand and practically pulling him out of the Throne room. Ron looked back at the King. They exchanged an understanding look before Ron was pulled around the corner of the doorway.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Harry whooped for joy when he heard the noise. No Potions this afternoon, YES!  
  
Hermione, however, was biting her lip nervously. For some reason this didn't sit with her. It wasn't just their class, all the Potions classes had been canceled, and it was quite obvious (to Hermione, at least) that Snape hadn't been seen lately. It didn't sit well with her that he had disappeared; after all, they knew he was working for Dumbledore.  
  
At that moment, Albus Dumbledore was staring at the letter the Ministry had sent him, confirming the worst.  
  
Severus was dead.  
  
It was hard to believe, after all he had come through. He had been a trusted comrade of Albus's, if not one of his best students. He was sitting with his head bowed when Minerva came into the room.  
  
"Yes, Minerva?" He said, trying smile at the Deputy Headmistress.  
  
"Where is Severus, Albus?" Minerva said bluntly. She had never been one to beat around the bush. Dumbledore sighed.  
  
"He's gone, Minerva." He looked up at her, and, though his face was wrinkled and his body was weary, his eyes showed how very upset he was.  
  
"Oh my God." She replied, slumping into a chair. She had never been to fond of Severus, but she still was going to miss his sadistic comments and sarcastic attitude. The staff wouldn't be the same.  
  
Speaking of the staff...  
  
"Who's going to teach Potions?" She asked, looking up abruptly.  
  
"I was just pondering that myself....maybe Remus, he's back in the country, you know..."  
  
"Heavens no!" Minerva cried. "Remus was always hopeless at Potions! He only passed becuase he always partnered with Miranda Himalia--"  
  
"That's it!" Remus said, standing up. "Minerva, Miranda is in the country too! SHE is a potions master if I've ever met one! Let's have her come to teach!"  
  
"Miranda Himalia?" Minerva said doubtfully. "I don't know, Albus....she doesn't quite seem like, er, teaching material to me." And, though she didn't say it out loud, Himalia's attitude and behavoir was the exact opposite of Severus's, if Himalia hadn't changed since coming back from Australia. Of course, under the circumstace of which she had returned...but still, Himalia had never been one to let others know when she was really upset about something.  
  
"I know Minerva. That's why I think she would be so perfect." Dumbledore said laughing, and Minerva got the uneasy feeling he was reading her mind.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The occupants of the Slytherin castle in Marigold were preparing for Valentines Day. Sirius, Remus, Ron, Mindy, and Harmony could be seen every step of the way, supervising and making a few...adjustments, so to speak. Valentine's Day was going to be interesting this year...  
  
They were sitting in one of the parlours, laughing at Sirius's latest plan.  
  
"Okay wait..." Mindy said, before collapsing into another fit of laughter. Sirius just watched, smiling proudly. He almost felt like a Maurader again...almost.  
  
"You heard me!" He said. "The first person to drink from that goblet will grow a 3 foot, 7 1/2 inch long pink beard!" Again, the others began laughing so hard they couldn't breath, until....  
  
"Ouch!" Mindy said, rubbing her head where the owl had dropped the letter.  
  
"Yes dear, letters are sooo heavy." Harmony said, teasing the blonde. Ron laughed.  
  
"Not 'ouch' as in 'ouch', 'ouch' as in....um....a surprised 'ouch'? Wait, I'm confused..." Mindy looked around, confused, as the others began to laugh. Then she took the letter from the floor where it had fallen, and flipped it over to open it. She gasped.  
  
"What?" Ron asked through gasps for air. He began to calm as he realized that her puzzled expression was over the letter, not the 'ouch'.  
  
"It's...the Hogwarts seal." She said, staring down at it in disbelief. The others stopped laughing immediately. Harmony gaped.  
  
"But...that's impossible!" She exclaimed.  
  
"No, I don't think so," Remus replied thoughtfully. "I think Dumbledore's owl could get anywhere."  
  
"Well, open it!" Sirius said. They all watched as she tore the letter and scanned it.  
  
"Read it!" Ron said, curious. Mindy seemed to snap out of a daze before clearing her throat importantly, and reading:  
~~~  
Dear Ms. Himalia:  
I would like to inform you that the position of Potions Master is now open at Hogwarts.  
You're previous record and outstanding abilities in the feild have led me to ask you to take the position.  
Please send your acception or rejection of this offer as soon as possible.  
Thank you,  
Professor Albus Dumbledore,  
Headmaster, Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry  
  
P.S. I don't know if you've been in contact with Sirius, but if you have and you see him before I do, please send him the eclosed envelope.  
~~~  
She finished reading and looked up at Sirius quizzically.  
  
"Are you expecting something from Dumbledore?" She asked, not even recognizing the statement of the rest of the letter.  
  
"No," Sirius replied, a bemused look on his face. From here, it was obvious that the man had spent years in Azkaban, he had that haunted look about him. "I haven't been in contact with Dumbledore in years." He frowned. Something about the letter seemed to be troubling him.  
  
Mindy fished around in the envelope for a moment before producing another small, square envelope, which Sirius tore open and began to read aloud immediately.  
~~~  
Sirius,  
I'm not sure if you shall ever receive this, or if you're even alive. If you are, and you got this through Mindy, I'm sure she's told you about the Potions position at Hogwarts being open, and I'm sure you're curious of why. There is no real way to put this bluntly, Sirius, but Severus...  
~~~  
  
Suddenly Sirius stopped reading, his eyes opened wide in shock. He held the parchment closer to his eyes, rereading what was there. He did this again...and again. The tension in the room was growing. It took a lot to surprise Sirius like that.  
  
"But Severus is dead." He said faintly, finally letting the others know. Remus's eyes widened, and Mindy gasped. Ron was slightly stunned, becuase he had known Snape, and even if he was evil he had saved Harry's life in the past. Harmony looked around, confused, and a little upset that everyone but her knew what was going on. She was not used to being the only one left out of the loop.  
  
"Padfoot..." Mindy said awkardly, standing and advancing toward Sirius, who stood and dropped the note. He turned on heel and sped from the room. Mindy sighed and plopped into the seat he had been sitting in, putting her face into her hands in what seemed to be frustration. Ron was confused now also; he knew Sirius and Snape had always hated each other....why should he react like that to his death?  
  
  
Sirius strided along the halls of the castle at an impossible rate. He wasn't in a state of shocked denial and rage as he had been when James died, nor the wild depression of his mother's death.  
  
He simply felt confused. And more than a little bit guilty.  
  
He should be upset, shouldn't he? This should be a blow. He should be sad. This should be the time he regretted everything he ever did to Severus, when he wished they wouldn't have been enemies. But, quite frankly, he wasn't. He didn't feel any of those things. This wasn't right! How could he not even care?  
  
Sirius found he was in his own room. He immediately went to his closet, dug under a pile of dirty laundry well hidden from the house elves, and pulled out an old shoe box. Striding over to his desk, he sat and opened it, carefulling looking at it's precious contents; he pictures.  
  
James; himself and Crystal; the Maruaders; his mother; Remus and Julia; just Julia; James, Peter and himself in their animagus forms on the first successful transformation; Harry as a baby; his mom and him at a baseball game; Peter running as Remus chased him with a quill; Sirius dropping Harry on his head; Lily and James's wedding, Mindy's good bye party; Willow looking ready to kill; James's bachelor party...  
  
Sirius dug through them all, searching desperately to see it he still had it.  
  
The it was, at the very bottom of the box. That one, single picture. The picture that he had been running from for longer than he had been running from the law.  
  
It showed a man with straight black hair and dark eyes, with a face that could be jolly with laughter or sour with a smirk. He was standing outside a magical ice cream parlour with two children, each about five years of age, both with the man's black hair and dark eyes, but with distinct characteristics. The three were laughing together, teasing and eating their half-melted ice cream cones.   
  
Sirius smiled, and finally felt it, though it wasn't as strong as he expected it to be.  
  
The pain of losing his only brother. Severus.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The Gryffindors were unsure of how they should react. Their least favorite teacher, Snape, was dead. Killed in the line of duty while working for Dumbledore. An unusually noble death for a Slytherin.  
  
Many were not even claiming to care. But some, like Harry and Hermione, felt somewhat guilty about all that had happened. And so, when the date of his funurel was announced, they decided that they would go.  
  
However, the whole thing turned out to be incredibly boring. It was just an open showing. There was one woman who was crying, but more becuase of the simple fact that is was a funeral than the fact that it was Snape's. Harry was shocked.  
  
Didn't anyone care about this man's death?  
  
  
  
Sirius slipped in through the open double doors. This was dangerous, far too dangerous, but Sirius wasn't going to miss his own brother's funeral.  
  
He wasn't sure what to do now that he was there. Even though he was pretty sure no one would recognize him, especially under the thick hooded cloak, he was increasingly nervous.  
  
He sat down on one of the benches near the open casket, carefully choosing a secluded seat. He didn't trust himself to actually go up and look at the body, which the Ministry had returned from the place they had found it dumped.  
  
As he sat, lost in thought, he felt someone sit down next to him. Sirius turned to face...  
  
Harry.  
  
"Hello!" Harry said warmly. Sirius quickly turned away. He couldn't believe it...HARRY?!  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, am I bothering you...?" Harry asked uneasily. Incredible, Harry didn't recognize him. When the mysterious man didn't reply, Harry stood to leave. Sirius couldn't bring himself to just let Harry leave.  
  
"No, you're fine." He said hoarsley. Whoa, maybe Severus's death was taking a larger tole on him than he thought it had. Or maybe it was the presence of James's son...  
  
"If you're sure..." Harry, still unsure, said, sitting down again gingerly.  
  
"I'm sure...I think I need some company." Sirius replied. He was surprised to find that this was true.  
  
"Did you know him?" Harry asked, nodding to the open casket. Of course Harry wouldn't really care if Snape died, who could blame him?  
  
"Yeah...you could say that." Sirius replied uneasily. Harry automatically sensed that there was something more to that statement than was being said. However Harry (rather unwisely) decided not to press the subject.  
  
"So....where you from?" Harry asked. He was very curious about the only stranger at Snape's funeral.  
  
"Not far away." Sirius replied, closing the subject. What was he supposed to say? 'Gee Harry, I'm from Marigold, the Hidden City of Salazar Slytherin just in the forest there. By the way, I'm you're godfather, and also hiding out there is your dead best friend.' I think not.  
  
"So, um--"  
  
"Harry? Harry? Where did he get to?" A girl's voice was softly calling, interrupting Harry before he could come up with another way to interrigate the stranger.  
  
"Better hurry, you're girlfriend's calling." Sirius said. As soon as the words left his mouth he realized what he had said, and mentally kicked himself in the rear.  
  
"How did you know she was my girlfriend?" Harry asked quizically, suddenly becoming suspicious. Sirius could've easily said that he had just assumed, and that a handsome guy like him must have girls swooning over him all the time. However, Sirius panicked.  
  
"Uh...gotta go!" He said, rising a little bit too quickly and half running from the Great Hall and into the forest, feeling Harry's questioning stare following him.  
  
"Who was that?" Hermione asked, finally coming up to Harry, who was also standing by now. She was shocked by the look on his face as he stared at the open doors.  
  
"Harry, what's wrong?" She asked. Harry shook his head.  
  
"It was this guy...I've never seen him before. He's certainly not from Hogwarts, he's not a teacher and he's too old to be a student. He knew you were my girlfriend just by hearing you're voice...it was like he knew me."  
  
"That's not good, Harry," Hermione replied, biting her lip nervously. "Someone at Snape's funeral, we knew he was spying as a Death Eater you know, and he KNOWS you? Harry that only means one thing!" She was frantically searching Harry's face when she realized he had reached the same conclusion before it had even occured to her. He smiled grimly.  
  
"A Death Eater."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Mindy, who had magically summoned all of her belongings to Marigold less than a week before, found herself packing it all up again. She was muttering a long and very colorful stream of cuss words under her breath as she tried to find the missing half of the pair of shoes she had worn yesterday.  
  
"Well this looks interesting." Remus said, causing her to jump and utter one of her words much louder than intended. He laughed. He had been watching her for nearly ten minutes, and she hadn't even noticed.  
  
"It is NOT funny, Remus Lupin!" She scolded, then, after looking around the room desperately, she flopped onto the bed and leaned over so that her head was upside down and her hair was flying everywhere. With a few more swear words and a couple of seconds, she was quite sure that it wasn't uner her bed and she whipped up again so fast that she fell backward onto the bed with dizziness. Remus laughed again.  
  
"What are you looking for?" He asked, his eyes twinkling. Mindy sighed.  
  
"My other high healed leather boot." She said. Remus laughed loudly at this, and Mindy sat straight up.  
  
"And what, may I ask, is so funny, Mr. Lupin?" She asked, aggitated over losing one of her favorite shoes.  
  
"That boot?" Remus said, mentioning to a tall leather shoe poking up from her underwear drawer, where she had thrown it while desperately looking for her favorite bikini not three minutes earlier.  
  
"I hate it when you're right." Mindy said, sticking her tongue out at him and walking over to the boot. However, the closer she got, the slower she went. That statement had more meaning than she thought it would have. She closed her eyes for just a few seconds, but it was long enough for the memories to flash through her mind.  
  
~~~~~  
It was the end of her seventh year. Mindy had been troubled for quite some time. Her parents were dead, as was her best friend. But she had to move past that and think of the future.  
She had always been good in Potions, and she was a favorite of the professor. She fully intended to go to a magical university to receive excessive training in the field.  
Her Aunt and Uncle had given her the chance of a lifetime. They would house her, and help her pay her way into a very expensive university. It was recognized as the best for Potions in the world. There was just one problem.  
It was in Australia.  
She was walking now, walking to her secret place that she shared only with Remus. She was going to tell him, and she was going to tell him today. She had already arranged to meet him. She was going to Australia. She was leaving him here.  
And she didn't intend on coming back.  
Remus looked nervous when she arrived. They both went to speak, and Mindy insisted that he go first. He gulped, and took her hand with his, slipping the other into his pocket. She was watching him curiously, when he pulled out a small black box, and opened it slowly. Mindy gasped as she stared at the beautiful diamond ring.  
"Mindy, you know I love you. Will you marry me?" Remus whispered, looking up hopefully into her eyes. Mindy was rendered speechless for a moment. A wild part of her screamed 'YES MIRANDA, YOU DOLT! MARRY HIM! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!"  
And then she made the biggest mistake of her life.  
She pushed the ring away.  
"I can't, Remus." She whispered, not crying or even getting emotional. She was perfectly calm, though somewhat distant. "I can't. I'm moving to Australia. I'm giong to a university. I can't marry you."  
She turned and tried to leave when Remus took her hand and forced her to turn and look back at him.  
"You'll regret it later, Mindy," He said in a strangled voice, trying desperately to make her change her mind. "You'll regret leaving."  
"No, I won't." She said, twisting out of his grasp and running back outside to the banks of the lake where she could be alone.  
~~~~~  
  
It only took a few seconds for this to pass through her mind, and as it released her she quickly grabbed her boot and threw it into her bag. Remus had sensed what she was remembering, and said nothing.  
  
"Look, Remus..." She said, looking at him expectantly. He stood and nodded.  
  
"I'll see you at dinner." He said, pecking her on the cheek. He strode out of the room. He knew, without seeing, the tears that were falling slowly down her face.  
  
As he collapsed into the bed in his own room, he also had a memory. A memory that had haunted him for years. He had thought he would die when she rejected his proposal and moved to Australia. But then....  
  
~~~~~  
Remus was having a good time. He, James, Peter, Sirius, Crystal, Willow, Lily, Kitty, and Rhainnon were all at a reunion at Hogwarts three years after graduation. Everyone was there, from all four houses. They were having fun, catching up on old times and kidding around, when he heard a familiar voice, and turned in shock.  
Mindy.  
She had hardly changed since the last time he had seen her. Her hair was still silky and golden, and her eyes were still a soft, inviting green that would change slowly to blue as she angered. She was dressed nicely in a long blue dress that wasn't overly fancy, but made her look beautiful. Remus felt himself choking on his punch. Crystal scoffed, and after a few tart words between them, she left. Mindy, however, smiled warmly at the remaining Marauders, who welcomed her gladly, for they had missed her bubbly personality greatly.  
But none so much as Remus.  
"Moony!" She smiled at him, and his heart lifted. Maybe she was finished at that accursed university on the other side of the world. Maybe she had come back. Maybe they could still be together. Maybe she still loved him.  
"Mindy," He forced himself to say. He opened his mouth to ask if she was back to stay, when He came.  
'He' was a tall rusty haired man, good looking in a rugged sort of way. His shoulders were broad and strong, and his eyes twinkled in a way that made you trust him. He had a friendly look about him, like a good natured neighbor.   
He slipped an arm around Mindy's waist without a second thought, and she smiled up at him. All of Remus's hopes popped inside him faster than a child who has awoken from a dream of Christmas to discover that it's only September.  
"G'day mates!" He said cheerfully with a thick Australion accent. Remus cringed as Mindy giggled.  
"They're not very familiar with that phrase up here." She said, smiling up at him lovingly. He laughed, and so did everyone else.  
Everyone but Remus.  
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" He asked, rasing his eyebrows.  
"Of course, hold you horses. All right, here we go. This is Lily Evans, and that's her boyfriend, James Potter."  
"Fiance!" Lily replied, and Mindy gasped.  
"No way!" She said. Lily nodded.   
"All righty then, well, that's Sirius Black, and this is Willow Weeping. That's Topanga Topingside, but call her Kitty. Trust me, call her Kitty.  
"Amen," A few of Kitty's friends muttered, earning a stuck-out tongue from Kitty herself.  
"That's Peter Pettigrew and Rhiannon Romandle, no they're not together. And this is Remus Lupin." Remus forced a smile upon the stranger, who smiled easily at him. It was hard to hate him.  
"Everyone," Mindy continued, not realizing Remus's torture. "This is Wes Ravine," She looked up at him excitedly and he squeazed her hand, then she turned back to her school friends and finished, "My husband."  
Remus stared in shock at the handsome Australian who was now married to the woman that he had loved for so long.  
"Yep, we're the Ravines!" He said, smiling down upon his wife. "Us and little Raina, our daughter."  
Remus turned from the scene as his friends congratulated them. Mindy was married and she had a daughter.  
It was no longer hard to hate Wes Ravine.  
~~~~~  
  
The dinner bell sounded and Remus pulled himself out of that particular memory gladly. 


	18. Of Potions, Proposals, and a Cappucino

A/N This is a REALLY REALLY REALLY long chapter...sorry to those of you short chapie peeps! A lot happens here...PLEASE REVEIW *mwaz* Okay, have fun...  
  
  
Chapter Eighteen  
Of Potions, Proposals, and a Cappucino  
  
As Ron sat down for dinner, he immediately realized that one was missing among their number...Sirius.  
  
"Where's Padfoot?" Harmony said, looking up and down the table and frowning.  
  
"At Severus Snape's funeral, I expect," Remus replied, as if this were obvious.  
  
"Who's Severus Snape?" She asked, her frown darkening.  
  
"Sirius didn't tell you?" Mindy replied, looking surprised.  
  
"No," She said shortly. Ron snorted.  
  
"He's the most evil teacher at Hogwarts. He taught Potions, terrorized the Gryffindors...not a nice guy. And he's dead. I'm over it," Ron held up a finger and closed his eyes suddenly. "Wait, wait wait!" He said, and for five seconds he kept his eyes shut and breathed in deep, then he opened them. "Yep, I'm over it."  
  
"That's not funny," Mindy said, trying not to laugh. "Severus and Sirius...hell I might as well tell you--"  
  
"Are you sure?" Remus interrupted, looking the teenagers over.   
  
"Why not?" Mindy replied. "They've been protecting him for years, and whether Sirius realizes it or not they deserve the truth." Ron and Harmony were getting rather annoyed by now.  
  
"Fine," Remus sighed. "But if you get in trouble, I had NO part in this." He said. Ron rolled his eyes and, just to tell him that he wasn't impressed by all this kryptic talk he reached over and sipped his drink as Mindy turned to tell them.  
  
"Severus and Sirius...they're brothers." Mindy said. The drink Ron had been casually sipping came flying in all directions from his mouth.  
  
"WHAT?!" He yelled, as Harmony picked up her napkin. "Sirius and...SNAPE? They're brothers?!"  
  
"Half brothers, techinacally," Remus replied, not looking up from his food, but eating as if this weren't news (which, to him anyway, it wasn't).  
  
"Uh-huh," Ron said, turning back to his food, not really wanting to know. Sirius and Severus's faternity issues were enough to keep him occupied for a while. The four ate in silence for a few more minutes.  
  
"Well, I have all my stuff packed," Mindy said suddenly. Harmony and Ron looked up at her.  
  
"You're leaving already!" Harmony cried.  
  
"Well, they don't have a professor..." Mindy said, and Harmony sighed.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, I guess it will just be us and Sirius, boys," Harmony said, grinning at Ron and Remus. Remus cleared his throat.  
  
"Actually...I was planning to go with her," Remus said.  
  
"You are!" Harmony and Ron exclaimed.  
  
"You were?" Mindy asked, not shouting, but surprised just the same.  
  
"You think I'm going to let you trot off to school and leave me behind again?" He asked, grinning. Mindy giggled.  
  
"Yes, that would be rather cruel, wouldn't it...but what if Dumbledore..."  
  
"Dumbledore will give me something to do Mindy, trust me," Remus replied.  
  
"But...but...You're both leaving?" Harmony asked. Mindy and Remus turned to her again.  
  
"I'm sorry, Harm, it's not that we don't like it here--"  
  
"It's great, but..."  
  
"We belong at Hogwarts," Mindy finished. There was an awkard pause.  
  
"Well, I'm going to bed," Remus said suddenly.  
  
"Yeah, me too," Mindy said standing up. "Goodnight, kids!"  
  
"G'night," Harmony and Ron murmered.  
  
They both stared down at their food, and then, at the same time, they looked up at each other. Ron looked at her beautiful face, and was sharply reminded of her inhuman ears. *Do WE belong in differnt worlds?* He thought. *Do I belong at Hogwarts, while Harmony belongs here?* The very thought tore him in two.  
  
He didn't know that Harmony was thinking the same thing.  
  
"Wanna go for a walk?" Harmony asked suddenly. Ron nodded greatfully and stood up, holding out his hand. They walked outside and into the garden, as if it were their very last night together.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The sun was just beginning to rise, sending it's first rays of golden light on Hogwarts. Hiding in the still very dark shadows of the edge of the forest were five distinct figures.  
  
"Now you behave yourself, Mindy, you're a professor now," Sirius said jokingly. He didn't show how much he was going to miss them. Having them around constantly reminded him of their days at Hogwarts.  
  
"You are? Geez, I feel sorry for the students," Harmony teased.  
  
"Don't forget, I'll be there to keep an eye on her," Remus said, putting a protective arm around her waist. Only Sirius understood what that meant to them.  
  
"Oh. My. God. Mindy a professor and only Remus to keep an eye on her? Man, I'm glad I don't go to Hogwart anymore!" Ron said, laughing.  
  
"Shut up!" Mindy said. Then she gave Harmony a hug.  
  
"Well...goodbye, then," She said.  
  
"Yeah, take care!" Harmony smiled.  
  
"Have fun!" Ron winked.  
  
"Just don't do anything I wouldn't do and you'll be fine." Sirius said. Mindy laughed.  
  
"If I take that advice I'm sure to be fired. Tootles!"  
  
They waved until Mindy and Remus slipped into the huge oaken doors of Hogwarts, and were out of sight. Then Sirius, Ron, and Harmony were quiet for a moment. Ron and Sirius were remembering their first time slipping those doors.  
  
And Harmony was dreading her passage through them.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Albus had just conjugated a cup of cappucino when he heard a knock on his door. He took a glance at his pocket watch, which revealed it to be 6:26 in the morning. He mused briefly why someone was knocking on his door at 6:26 AM when he was trying to drink his cappucino before opening the door.  
  
He was quite surprised to see Miranda Himalia standing there, looking quite perky.  
  
"Good morning, Professor!" She chirped, and Dumbledore could do nothing but stare.  
  
"Good morning...do come in, Miranda. Remus, you as well," Dumbledore said, holding the door open for them. He wasn't surprised to see Remus at all.  
  
"What are you staring at?" Mindy asked him, frowning.  
  
"Miranda Himalia, perky before noon," Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling. "It's quite a sight to see."  
  
Remus laughed, but Mindy just looked rather put-off.  
  
"Oh, c'mon Professor, I wasn't that bad!" She objected.  
  
"This coming from the girl who threw an alarm clock at Sirius Black and landed him in the hospital with a concussion," Dumbledore said. Remus howled with laughter.  
  
"It was for only Quidditch, and it was 6:30 in the morning!" She whined.  
  
"Guess what time it is now." Dumbledore replied.  
  
"Uh....9?" She said.  
  
"6:30." Dumbledore smiled as Remus continued to laugh.  
  
"Shut UP, Moony!" She said, hitting him on the arm.  
  
"Hey, that hurt!" He said, rubbing the spot where she had punched him.  
  
"It was supposed to," She snapped. Suddenly Dumbledore began to chuckle.  
  
"What's so funny?" Mindy asked him.  
  
"You two haven't changed a bit." Dumbledore replied.  
  
"And just what do you mean by that?" Mindy demanded. Dumbledore just smiled and rolled his eyes.   
  
"Anyway, onto business...do you have ANY teaching experience, Miss Himalia?"  
  
"No," She replied.  
  
"Have you ever worked with teenagers?"  
  
"No,"  
  
"Do you have any which potions to use for which classes?"  
  
"No,"  
  
"Welcome aboard, Professor Himalia!" Dumbledore exclaimed, holding a hand for Mindy to shake. She gave Remus a quizzical glance, and realized that he was doing everything but running from the room to keep himself from laughing.  
  
"All righty then, boss," She said, shaking his hand.  
  
"And Remus...you can be here to protect the school at these dark times." Dumbledore continued, looking at the werewolf with twinkling eyes.  
  
"When do I start?" Mindy asked. Dumbledore thought for a moment.  
  
"You'll need time to look at your schedule and Severus's upcoming lesson plans..."  
  
"This afternoon?" Mindy said. Dumbledore smiled to himself...she really had no idea what it took to be a professor.  
  
"Of course." He dismissed them, so Remus and Mindy took their leave. They had not walked far down the corridor that held the gargoyle when they bumped into somebody.  
  
"Crystal!" Mindy smiled. Crystal gave her a hug, and smiled at Remus. She was glad to see that Mindy hadn't left him behind again. Mindy returned the hug somewhat awkwardly. She didn't know if she had really forgiven Crystal in the depths of her heart...and she didn't know if Crystal had forgiven her.  
  
"Hey you two, don't go huggy on me," He teased. "I'm still getting over the fact that you can look at each other properly."  
  
"Don't be silly, Moony," Mindy replied, rolling her eyes. She expected Crystal to do much the same, but her chocolate eyes were wide with realization.  
  
"What is it?" Remus asked, frowning.  
  
"Mindy, no here knows we get along!" She cried.  
  
"So?" Mindy asked.  
  
"If we are...civil, then someone might ask us when we found the time to reconcile."  
  
"And?" Mindy asked, still not understanding what she was getting at.  
  
"And what are we supposed to tell them?" Crystal asked, looking at her pointedly. Remus nodded with understanding. Mindy rolled her eyes again.  
  
"Aw, c'mon Crystal! Can't we tell them that was a long time ago and we've grown up now?" Mindy whined, sounding about seven years old.  
  
"Mindy, since when do either of us give up on grudges?" Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow. Mindy grinned devilishly.  
  
"Good point...so we just have to pretend we hate each other like we did back in the good old days?" Mindy asked, wiggling her eyebrows.  
  
"That won't be difficult." Crystal teased.  
  
"I take that as an insult." Mindy said huffily.  
  
"Good, that's the point." She replied. She and Mindy stared at each other for a few seconds before bursting into giggles. Remus was utterly confused.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"So wait...Potions isn't cancelled?" Neville asked, confused.  
  
"No, Neville," Hermione repeated. "They annoucned that there was a new professor at lunch. Weren't you listening.?"  
  
"I just thought that maybe she would start tomorrow." He replied woefully. The idea of a new professor was not changing his opinion on Potions.   
  
"C'mon, we'd better go if want to be there on time," Harry said, looking at the clock. He took Hermione's hand as they walked through the halls to the Potions classroom.  
  
They entered just before the bell rang and took their seats. They looked around nervously for the professor. They waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, fifteen minutes later, they heard the door open and spun around as two people came rushing in.  
  
"Sorry I'm late," The woman said. She was pretty, with long blonde hair and soft green eyes. She was blushing at the moment as she tried to handle a tall stack of papers and kept dropping them. Finally she muttered something under her breath, and dropped them all.  
  
"Well, I feel better now," She said, looking up at the students. "Hello, my name is Miranda Himalia. Technically you're supposed to call me 'Professor Himalia' but I probably won't even recognize it as my name, so just Mindy is fine, if that works better for you."  
  
Harry stared at her in shock. Who WAS this woman? She was nothing like Snape in the least. He noticed several sighs of relief floating around the room.  
  
"Okay, um...roll call, of course. I say your name, you say here, ect ect, ya'll know the drill. Okay, Brown, Lavender!"   
  
"Here!" Harry waited patiently for her to call his name.  
  
"Potter--" She stopped and stared at the list. Harry sighed, he hated being recognized for his famous deed he didnt' remember.  
  
"Harry Potter?" She said in shock.  
  
"Yeah," Harry sighed.  
  
"Whoa. I didn't know James' son was in this class! And passing! Whew, I'm impressed." She muttered to herself. Harry looked at her quizzically, but she had already called 'Rilvestra, Demitri'.  
  
"Who's that?" One of the Ravenclaws (Harry recognized her as Lisa Turpin) asked, pointing at the man sitting in the back of the class who had entered with Mindy as she finished taking the roll.  
  
"Professor Lupin!" Dean exclaimed. Harry spun around, and it was indeed Remus Lupin. His eyes lit up. If Lupin was here with her, Mindy was definately cool.  
  
"Yes, that would be Mr. Remus Lupin." Mindy said, sounding rather annoyed. "Who shouldn't even BE HERE because he can't BREW A POTION to save his life!"  
  
"And you can't teach a class to save your life, so I figure between the two of us these kids might actually learn something." Remus shrugged. The class laughed.  
  
"Yes, well...shut up, Moony!" She replied, sticking her tongue out. Harry felt his heart lift up--she had called him by his Marauder nickname.  
  
"Well, um, Professor Snape left many things to grade and I can't read his handwriting, so I've decided that we'll start with something new. The problem is, I spent so much time trying to read his sloppy handwriting that I haven't figured it out yet. So, today we're going to play an ice breaker."  
  
"Ice breaker?" Neville squeaked, sounding somewhat frightened.  
  
"Uh-huh," Mindy replied. "Ice breaker refers to a game that helps new people get to know each other. And although I'm sure the Gryffindors know the Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws know the Ravenclaws, how much do you really know about each other? And I don't know...most of you. So, allow me to explain the rules." She looked around the class. "Okay, the desks have got to go," With a wave of her wand, she gracefully swept the desks away. "Pull your chairs into a circle, that's it. Okay, the rules, the rules...  
  
"There's somebody in the middle, for a start. That person says their name and one thing about themself. Then, they call out a feature, for example 'All people with blue eyes'. then everyone with blue eyes has to stand up and switch chairs. You realize that I'm standing and you all are seated, which means that, including myself, there is one less chair than there are players. The last person standing after everyone else has switched has to be in the middle...Did that make any sense?" She said, talking rather quickly. 'When does she breathe?' Harry wondered. He nodded, and saw that so was about half of the class.  
  
"Okay, let's start...wait a sec. Remus, you're going to play too!" She said, looking at Lupin, who was comfortably seated outside the circle.  
  
"Awww, do I have to?" He whined, pulling his chair into the circle.  
  
"Okay then!" Mindy chirped. "Um...I'm Mindy, naturally, and my fact is..." She looked around the room as if she were playing I spy. "I lived in Australia for twenty years. Okay, all the people who are wearing white socks!"  
  
Harry watched as the people around him scurried to find other seats. He smiled...he was wearing a pair of socks Dobby had knit for him. He looked, and realized Hermione was standing. He laughed out loud.  
  
"Okay, I'm Hermione Granger, and I'm Head Girl. That was easy. Okay, all the people who like Quidditch!" She said, winking at Harry, then laughing as he tried desperately to find a seat. To her disappointment, however, he was too quick for the competion.   
  
"Hi, I'm Terry Boot, and I'm an alcoholic," Said the standing Ravenclaw, earning a gale of giggles. "All right...all the people don't like Divination!"  
  
With much laughter (and a lump on the head for Neville) there was only one person who had not been in the circle...Remus.  
  
"All the people who are werewolves!" Mindy exclaimed in frustration after her third turn in the middle.  
  
"That's just not fair." He said playfully as he allowed Mindy to take his seat and stopped in the center of the circle. "Hi, I'm Remus Lupin, obviously. And...something you don't know about me..." It seemed he was having trouble coming up with something. He spun around slowly, looking at everyone in the circle, before his eyes stopped at Mindy. He smiled at her, looking her square in the eye.  
  
"And I want to marry your Potions professor." He said. Harry felt his eyes widen. WHAT?  
  
"Are you asking me to marry you?" Mindy asked in astonishment, standing up.  
  
"Maybe I am asking you to marry me," He answered.  
  
"And maybe I'm accepting," Mindy smiled. And right there, in the middle of a circle of students, he wrapped her into a kiss.  
  
"And five points from Gryffindor for being a smart ass." She said as she pulled away, though still smiling.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Mindy was walking on air that night. She was going to marry Remus! She had wanted it for so long...  
  
She crawled into bed, smiling to herself even as she fell asleep...and into a dream.  
  
~*~  
"Mindy, you're a very beautiful girl."  
"You say that all the time, Wes," She teased, laughing. Wesley was a wonderful man, and she had fallen in love with him...though it was the same as falling in love with Remus. She had pushed Remus out of her mind, however. He was back in England, and here she was, in beautiful Australia, with a sweet, handsome guy who claimed to love her.  
"That's becuase it's true!" He replied, tugging gently at her hair. "Mindy, there's something I've been meaning to ask you..."  
"Anything," She said, her heart melting to her boyfriend.  
"Min...will you marry me?" He got down on one knee and produced a beautiful diamond ring. She gasped. She looked up at Wes in shock, and for a moment, she saw Remus, holding out a little black box. But then he was Wes, her sweet, adorable Wes, looking at her with large anxious eyes.  
"Yes!" She exclaimed. "Yes, I will marry you!" His face lit up as he slipped the ring on her finger. Laughing, he picked her up and spun her around, and when her feet touched the floor, he wrapped her into a kiss...  
  
She was incredibly nervous about returning to England for the reunion. She did not show it, however. She was not angry at Crystal....until Crystal reminded her of their feud. Her hopes of forgiveness turned sour.  
The fact that Remus smiled at her made it no easier. Somewhere, hidden beneath her love for Wes, were her feelings for Remus. She did not want them bothered. She was glad Wes was there with her.   
She missed her daughter. Raina had her father's dusty red hair and her mother's sea green eyes. She reminded Mindy of a softer Lily, so it came as no surprise that her name was Raina Lily Ravine. It was Mindy's first long time from her daughter, and she was somewhat uncomfortable leaving the infant with Wes's parents.  
She talked with old friends, and smiled at old Moony. She could not avoid his beautiful brown eyes...so different from the smiling blue orbs Wes had. She was relieved when Wes came, and she could remind herself that she was happily married. It made it easier to pretend she didn't see the pain in Remus's eyes...  
  
The weight of the world had hardly daunted Miranda Ravine to the outside eye. She was a sucessful woman, raising four children with her husband around working on research in the universty she had graduated from. She worked on trying to developing potions for a number of useful things, and had built quite a name for herself in Australia.  
However, sometimes emotions she had locked away resurfaced, and Mindy would call in sick for work. She had only half coped with James and Lily's death. Everyone had celebrated the downfall of the evil wizard in Britain...and Mindy would still dream sometimes of lifting the newspaper and seeing the name 'Harry Potter'...and finding out that his parents were dead. That Sirius Black, one of her best friends, had been working for Voldemort and had brought about Lily and James's deaths. That Peter was also dead.   
Wes tried, but he could never really undertsand why Mindy cried for them. He did not know the bonds that held the Marauders together. It was times like that that made her wish she had Remus's shoulder to cry on. She had hidden him away in the depths of her mind, where she couldn't feel guilty about marrying Wes...even though at least part of her heart would always belong to Remus.  
That day, Mindy had been looking forward to going home. The next day was the birthday of her youngest child and only son; Evan. Wes, her daughters (Raina, Holly, and Summer) and her were planning a big party...he was going to be ten years old.   
Mindy apparated to a small forest just outside of town. She lived in a Muggle town near Sydney, almost on the coast. She always apparated here because she lived in a Muggle town and didn't want to be seen. Then she began the walk home.   
Suddenly she heard screaming and saw flashes of color. The darkening twilight was lit up by a sickening green light. Mindy's eyes were inevitably drawn to what she already knew was there.  
The Dark Mark.  
She dropped the bags of party supplies she was carrying and ran without thinking to her house, praying for the impossible. When she arrived, she found what was left of her beuatiful white house smoldering. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes travelling over the wisps of smoke. She saw a half burnt piece of wood that she recognized as the dinner table, and the black remnants of Holly's favorite quilt.  
As the Magical Law Enforcement squad began to arrive, Mindy fell to her knees. She screamed up at the sky, seeing nothing but the grinning green skull through her tears...  
~*~  
  
Mindy woke up panting and crying. She was damp with sweat, and her side ached as if she had really been running. She pushed off the covers and jumped out of the bed, staring at it as if it were the reason for her nightmare. Slowly her breathing returned to normal.  
  
Wes...she suddenly felt guilty for her happiness with Remus. The complete happiness she had never had with her late husband. Was Wes going to haunt her dreams when she married Remus like Remus did when she married Wes? She fell into the only chair in her dark room and put her head in her hands.   
  
She was momentarily transported back in time again. The breeze was lifting her hair...it smelled like salt. She was leaving for Britian tomorrow, but she had to visit them one last time. The five headstone were omninous and gray.   
  
  
  
Wesley Charles Ravine Raina Lily Ravine  
1967-1994 1978-1994   
Loving husband and father The light of her parents' lives  
  
Holly Willow Ravine Summer Julia Ravine  
1980-1994 1982-1994  
The joy of her parents' lives The sunshine of her parents' lives  
  
Evan James Ravine  
1984-1994  
The apple of his parents' eyes.  
  
  
  
Mindy pulled herself out of it, but the headstones still seemed to be there, reminding her that she had just left them back in Australia. She shook her head, trying to make the vision leave her. She came to the conclusion that she needed some hot chocolate. Mindy being Mindy, she was convinced that conjured chocolate did taste that good (so, as a matter of fact, was Dumbledore) so she slipped into her bathrobe and crept into the teachers lounge.  
  
She opened the door quietly, knowing that Crystal's room was nearby, and not wanting to wake her. She tiptoed inside, and silently started creeping toward Dumbledore's stash of hot chocolate.   
  
"Mindy?" A voice came out of the darkness, scaring her out of her wits. She jumped and put a hand to her heart. She spun around to see Crystal herself, in a long blue bathrobe, rising in concern.  
  
"Oh Crystal...it's you..." She breathed, trying not to sound too panicked.  
  
"Mindy, what's wrong?" Crystal's dark eyes searched Mindy's green ones. They were crying out for help.  
  
"I...I had a dream...about Wes and Raina and..." Mindy suddenly began to sob. Crystal hugged her reasuringly, rubbing her back and letting her cry. She didn't realize that Mindy had been so affected...she mentally kicked herself. Of course she had been affected! Her husband and four children had been murdered!  
  
"It's okay, Min, it's okay..." She whispered, as Mindy started shaking. She pulled away and gave Crystal a wobbly smile as her tears began to subside.  
  
"Here, I just made it," Crystal said, sitting Mindy down and handing her a mug of hot chocolate. Mindy looked up at Crystal with a look of undying gratitiude that had nothing to do with the hot chocolate.  
  
"Thanks," She whispered, and Crystal smiled.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mindy had never imagined staff meetings to be so incredibly boring. While back in school, she and Sirius had been convinced that the staff spent their meeting time planning new and more terrible detentions. As it turned out, they talked more about the supplies needed in Herbology and the Charms curriculum next year. Mindy was soon asleep...as she had gotton almost none after her nightmare the previous night.  
  
While Mindy slept, Dumbledore brought up the problem of the Valentine's Day Dance, which was open to seventh years and their dates only. It was to be held in Hogsmeade at the Three Broomsticks, and no one in the staff was exactly jumping up and down to chaperone.   
  
"What about you, Miranda, would you be willing to chaperone? Miranda? Miranda?" Dumbledore tried to get Mindy's attention, struggling not to chuckle as he realized she was in a slumbering state. She wasn't the first.  
  
"What? Yeah, uh-huh..." Mindy replied, sitting straight up and trying to pretend that she had been paying attention the whole time.  
  
"All right, that's one chaperone for the Valentine's Dance, now--" Dumbledore began.  
  
"WHAT?!" Mindy exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, Miranda, you just agreed to chaperone," Dumbledore explained, his eyes twinkling. Mindy felt her eyes widen...she had plans to spend Valentine's Day with Remus!  
  
"But...but..." She spluttered. Seeing the odd smile on the Headmaster's face, she realized that she had been tricked into it and sighed in defeat.  
  
"As I was saying," Dumbledore continued. "We will be needing a second chaperone..."  
  
"Remus will do it," Mindy interrupted quickly. Dumbledore turned to her yet again, raising his eyebrows.  
  
"Really, Miranda? He told you this?" He asked curiously.  
  
"Well not exactly...but I'm sure he wouldn't mind..." She replied, looking at him hopefully. He shrugged.  
  
"If he agrees it's fine with me," Dumbledore replied. "That's all, meeting adjourned."  
  
Mindy was one of the first out of the room. She was absolutely mortified that Dumbledore caught her sleeping during a staff meeting.   
  
Being that Headmaster and Deputy headmistress, Dumbledore and McGonagall had more papers than anyone else, and coincidentally, were always the last ones out of the room. As she finished stacking her papers, Minerva looked at Dumbledore curiously.  
  
"What?" Dumbledore asked, not needing to look up to feel her gaze.  
  
"If Miranda and Remus chaperone, we still have one problem," Minerva explained.  
  
"Really? What would that be?" He asked in amusement.  
  
"Who will chaperone them?" She asked. Dumbledore started to laugh.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mindy was spending as long getting dressed up as any of the young girls before the dance. She met up with Remus inthe Great Hall before it filled with students, because they had to be the first in Hogsmeade.   
  
Remus was pacing the hall nervously. He was dressed his best deep green dress robes. He didn't know why he was so nervous. He was a chaperone not a student! Why should something as simple as chaperoning a dance with his fiance be so nerve-racking?  
  
"Remus?" Came a soft voice from behind him. He jumped and spun around. He felt his jaw drop.  
  
"Mindy, you look....beuatiful," He stuttered. Her hair was up in a complicated bun which involved braids and many bobby pins...except for one tendril which fell down her right cheek, curling under her chin. She was wearing a spaghetti strap royal blue dress that went straight down to her ankles. It brought out the hidden blue in her eyes.  
  
"Really?" She asked, looking away, blushing and biting her lip.  
  
"Really really," He replied, smiling, and she laughed.  
  
"Well you don't look too bad yourself...why are we just standing here? We're supposed to be down there already!"  
  
"Right this way, m'lady," Remus relied, offering his arm. Mindy took it and smiled up at him as he led her out to the carriage. She felt like a princess from a fairy tale.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Harry was getting rather impatient. Honestly, how long could it take for her to get ready? He had been waiting for Hermione for half an hour. Ten minutes ago he had seen Parvati and Lavender come down and trot off giggling with Dean and a very red Seamus. Harry couldn't think of anything that could be taking Hermione this long. Just when he was about to storm upstairs and drag her to Hogsmeade, she descended down the steps. Harry felt his eyes bug out and he took a sharp intake of breath in surprise.  
  
The dress was a pale lavender. It was strapless, but it had a shawl which was wrapped around her shoulders. The dress had a tight bodice, but it belled out slightly (but not like the ballon bell out Parvati had been wearing) at the waist. Her hair was piled up on her head in a trendy hairstyle, with one curly tendril falling on each side of her face. She had even applied a touch of make-up.  
  
"Her...Hermione?" Harry croaked out. She bit her lip and looked down at her dress anxiously.  
  
"Do you like it?" She asked.  
  
"It...you...wow," He gaped. Hermione's face broke out into a smile.  
  
"Men, they're all hopeless," She giggled, winking at him. He snapped out of his trance, and took her hand happily. He couldn't believe she had gone to all that trouble...for him! All his impatiance had vanished the moment he saw her face.  
  
"Shall we go?" He asked.  
  
"Naturally," She replied. The talked, laughed, and held hands down into Hogsmeade.  
  
And there was a blessed moment in time where they knew only each other...not even Ron.  
  
As soon as they got into Hogsmeade they were attacked by people, the girls squealing over Hermione's dress and the guys winking at Harry behind her back. AS the pub began to fill, Harry realized that he was rather hungry. The band (a group neither Harry nor Hermione recognized, but that Neville and Seamus seemed to know well) was playing, and many couples were already dancing, but the food was no where in sight.  
  
"Hey, Remus!" Harry said, gesturing to him. He was no longer 'Professor Lupin' and everyone felt weird calling him 'Mr. Lupin', so Remus took a page out of Mindy's book and told the students to call him by his first name. He seemed to relax around her.  
  
"Yes, Harry?" Remus said, moving through the crowd toward him.  
  
"When are we going to eat? I'm starved!" He exclaimed.  
  
"When all the seventh years get here." Remus replied, shrugging. Harry looked around him. Everyone he knew was here.  
  
Everyone but Ron.  
  
Harry forced the thought out of his head and plunged on. "Who's not here?" He asked.  
  
"Um..." Remus pulled outa check list. Harry assumed (correctly) that it was one of Remus and Mindy's jobs to make sure everyone was there.  
  
"Draco Malfoy," Remus replied. Harry made a face. It was just like Malfoy to keep everybody waiting. As he was walking back to where he had left Hermione (they had decided not to even attempt dancing until after eating) he passed Pansy Parkinson.  
  
"Where is my Drakey?" She asked, paying her date (some fifth year) absolutely no attention. Harry made a face.  
  
"Who are we waiting on?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Malfoy," Harry muttered. Hermione made a face similiar to the one Harry had made. Soon they could here muttering all around them....where was Malfoy, and why was he holding up the entire meal? Everyone from every house was getting annoyed with him...even Crabbe and Goyle.  
  
Then, suddenly, there was a rush of air as the door opened. Everyone turned to see Malfoy standing in the entrance. He was dressed in very nice black and silver robes that looked like they had cost a fortune, and he was...alone. Harry wondered why he didn't have a date after all the younger Slytherins who had begged to go with him.  
  
"Hey Draco, where's your date?" Pansy purred. Draco raised an eyebrow and took a step into the pub. He then extended a hand, and Harry watched as a softer, more femine hand was placed into it. He pulled in his date, and Harry (along with the majority of the people present) gasped.  
  
It was Ginny Weasley.  
  
She looked absolutely beautiful. Her dress was a deep, Slytherin green. It had one sleeve on the left, and a slit up the left leg. Her hair was curled, and loose around her shoulders. Pansy immediately began to curse under her breath.  
  
"Well, um...okay food time!" Mindy said, waving her wand and making platters of food appear in the middle of every table. However, Harry didn't notice. He was staring at Ginny. With Ron's absence, he felt it was his duty to protect her. They were chatting happily as they walked over to find a table. Harry stood up as they passed theirs.  
  
"Malfoy," He growled. "We need to talk." Malfoy raised his eyebrows.  
  
"I'll be right back," He said to Ginny. She smiled and sat down in Harry's empty seat next to Hermione.  
  
"Malfoy," Harry hissed once out of the girls' hearshot. "What the HELL are you doing here with Ginny?" Malfoy raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Why do you care, Potter?" He drawled. He was enjoying the rise out of Potter.  
  
"Why do I care?" He echoed in disbeleif. "Because I know you're up to no good, that's why!" Harry spat, unable to think of a better reason than the obvious. Draco allowed this two entire raised eyebrows.  
  
"Can't I take my girlfriend to a dance without getting the third degree?" He asked. Harry's mouth fell open, and he was almost spluttering as he replied.  
  
"Your WHAT?" He demanded. Malfoy smirked.  
  
"That's right, Potter," He replied. "For someone who seems to have his nose in her business an awful lot, you sure weren't paying attention to the fact that we've been dating since December."  
  
"WHAT?" Harry exploded.  
  
"Variation, Potter, variation." Malfoy drawled. He looked over at the table where Hermione and Ginny were immersed in (a very similiar) conversation. Harry pretended that he didn't see Malfoy's face light up as he saw her. He pretended that when Ginny turned, it was not for Malfoy. She could not betray them like this!  
  
However, Harry could not pretend he didn't see Malfoy wave and Ginny smile and wink in return. Malfoy turned back to meet Harry's blazing eyes.  
  
"Potter, if you're quite through, I am wasting my time," Draco said. He was being quite honest for a Slytherin. However, Harry failed to see this. He was convinced Malfoy had Ginny under a spell...or something else. At least, that's what he told himself. He couldn't deny the light in Ginny's face when she smiled at him.   
  
"If you lay a FINGER on her..." Harry said quietly, leaving the rest to Malfoy's imagination. Malfoy rolled his eyes in return.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, Potter. Quit acting like her older brother." Malfoy drawled, and Harry's eyes blazed. "I already had this lecture from him..." Draco muttered under his breath. Even though there was virtually no space between them, Harry could only make out a short stream of unintelligable babble.  
  
"What was that?" He demanded feircly.  
  
"Nothing, nothing...."  
  
  
  
"Why are you here with...with....Malfoy?" Hermione asked as soon as Ginny sat down. Hermione spat his name in disgust. Ginny rolled her eyes. Honestly.  
  
"Because he asked me to go," She shrugged.  
  
"He's a MALFOY, Ginny!" Hermione hissed. "He's bad news! If you were really that anxious to come--"  
  
"No, Hermione, that's not it," Ginny interrupted feircly. "I wouldn't have come with anyone BUT Draco."  
  
"Wh...WHAT?" Hermione spluttered in disbelief.  
  
"We've been going out since Christmas," Ginny explained, rasing her eyebrows. "Or haven't you noticed?" This threw Hermione off. She hadn't been paying Ginny much attention...maybe that's why she went running to Malfoy...  
  
"Look, Ginny, I know I haven't been hanging out with you a lot. Is that why you're going out with him? For attention?"  
  
"NO!" Ginny spat in disgust. "God, Hermione, what do you think I am? I'm going out with Draco because...because I like him. And he likes me. And....and..." She suddenly looked rather insecure, turning her gaze from Hermione's concerned eyes. "And I think I'm in love with him."  
  
"GINNY!" Hermione gaped. "You're only sixteen! And...MALFOY?"   
  
"Variation, Hermione, variation," Ginny mumbled. Hermione was so shocked over what Ginny had said before that she didn't even hear it. She could not believe Ginny had just uttered those words. The thought occured to her that Malfoy had her under a curse...or maybe blackmail.  
  
"Ginny, has Malfoy done anything to you? A curse or...something else? Don't be afraid to tell me." Hermione said quietly.  
  
"NO!" Ginny cried in mortification. "Draco would never do ANYTHING like that! How can you say such things?"  
  
"Just look at him!" Hermione cried in exasperation. This turned out to be a bad idea, because when Ginny turned to look at Malfoy and Harry, Malfoy waved at her. Ginny's face lit up and she smiled, winking back. Hermione watched, dumbfounded. What amazed her the most was that Malfoy hadn't smirked...he seemed sincere in his smile for Ginny.  
  
"Ginny...I don't think this is a good idea," Hermione pleaded desperately. "I don't know what Malfoy's up to. If Ron were here--" Hermione immediately cut off her sentence, placing her hand over her mouth. Ginny turned her head, her curls falling around her.  
  
"Oh Ginny, I'm so sorry...that was way out of line," Hermione said quietly, gently touching the younger girl's shoulder. She turned back, and gave Hermione a half smile that sent her even further into guilt. How could she have used Ron as a tool for this arguement? Ron was her brother and he was...gone. Hermione couldn't bring herself to use the word 'dead' even in her thoughts.  
  
"That's okay," Ginny said quietly. She looked up as the two boys approached, smiling gratefully at Draco.   
  
She wasn't smiling because he would distract her from thinking about her brother's death (as Hermione thought) but rather because he could whisk her away so she wouldn't have to act like she was upset about the nonexistant death of her brother. She felt like she was manipulating one of her best friends, on top of lying to her. At the moment, she was more worried about the package she had sent to Ron than his 'death'.  
  
"Are you hungry?" Draco asked her. Hermione shot a look behind them at Harry, who shook his head.  
  
"Not really," Ginny replied, looking unenthusiastically at the many tempting dishes around her.  
  
"Then may I have the pleasure of the first dance?" He asked, holding out his arm. She giggled and nodded, standing. They were the only couple dancing. The others watched as they ate...many Gryffindors and Slytherins losing their appetites.  
  
Harry plopped down with a sigh. He looked back up at Hermione and managed a smile. She really did look beautiful.  
  
"No luck?" He asked her. She shook her head.  
  
"Quite the opposite...she said she was in love with him," Hermione replied, sighing. Harry's eyes popped out, and he put his head in his hands with a groan. If Ron knew Harry was doing such a bad job of looking out for his little sister, he would probably not be talking to him.  
  
"What's wrong, Harry?" Remus asked in concern as he passed their table.  
  
"Nothing." Harry replied, sounding as if something were VERY wrong. "Remus, are we allowed to drink at this shindig?"  
  
"Not you minors," Remus replied, winking. "But I think I might have a mead..." He turned and headed off, presumably in search of Madame Rosmerta.  
  
"Harry, don't worry about it," Hermione said lightly, trying to pretend she didn't see Ginny's head on Malfoy's shoulder. "Eat something. It's dinner time!"  
  
"You're right, as usual," Harry smiled. "And I am NOT going to let Malfoy ruin this for us," He picked up his fork and winked at Hermione. "Bon appetit!" He said in a terrible French accent, sending Hermione into a fit of giggles.  
  
It became easier to ignore Malfoy and Ginny as the dinner continued and other couples began to dance. Harry and Hermione were laughing and talking, eating slowly. Harry was in no rush to show off his terrible dancing skills. He was trying to think of ways to stall as he munched thoughtfully on his chocolate cake. He was so full he thought he would explode, but he kept eating to postpone the inevitable.  
  
"Hey!" Mindy said, flopping down in the seat next to Harry. Hermione giggled. "Mind if I have a bite of that?" She asked, pointing to the remnants of Harry's cake. He pushed it toward her.  
  
"Help yourself," He said, thankful that he wouldn't have to finish it himself. Mindy began devouring it.  
  
"Hungry, Professor?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"Well, I've just sort of been snipping at the student's food, and I haven't actually sat down to have a plate myself. Some of the students aren't as generous as Harry here," She said, rolling her eyes. Harry and Hermione gave each other a 'look'. They both thought she was nuts.  
  
"Where's Remus?" She asked curiously, as she finished Harry's cake.   
  
"I don't know," Harry replied, "He said something about getting a mead..."  
  
"WHAT?" She asked, her eyes going wide. "James, don't you remember what happened last time you tried to give him alcohol? He--"  
  
"Professor?" Harry interrupted, confused. Mindy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She realized when he interrupted her that the boy she was speaking to did not have the warm, chocolate eyes of her classmate, but the vivid emerald eyes of one of her best friends.   
  
"I'm sorry, Harry," She said quietly as she opened her eyes to convince herself that it was indeed Harry and not James. She was quite anxious to avoid a conversation with him at this point, so she started looking over his head for Remus.  
  
"You knew my dad?" Harry asked curiously, his head cocked to one side.  
  
"I think I see Remus!" Mindy exclaimed with a little bit too much enthusiasm. She leapt up and ran off after him, unfortunately finding him in the midst of his second mead.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Is she ALWAYS this late for these dance thingies?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes. Most of Marigold's high society was alrighty in the Ball Room for the Valentine Feast and Ball, but Harmony was not. Sirius, who was standing next to him and assumed he was the victim of this question as he had been every five minutes for the last half hour, shrugged.  
  
"I don't know," He said for the fifth time. Ron sighed.  
  
"I'm going to talk to King Shinra," He muttered. Sirius looked over at him in confusion.  
  
"Why?" He asked, frowning.  
  
"Just..." Ron mumbled something, his ears going red, before turning and hurrying off in search of the king. Sirius rolled his eyes, turning back around to look at the steps leading into the ballroom to wait for Harmony. He felt his eyes widen and his mouth drop at what he saw.  
  
"Hey," Crystal had never been one for fancy dresses, and compared to most of the blue blood sprites present her short, simple black dress was quite plain. However, its simplicity was what made it look so good...the dress went about halfway down her thigh and it was held up by two speghetti staps. She had cute black sandels and her hair was swept back into a french twist. She looked every inch the woman Sirius always knew she would grow to be.  
  
And man, she looked HOT!   
  
"Well, well, well, aren't I the luckiest guy here!" He grinned.  
  
"Well, naturally!" Crystal smiled, standing on her tip toes to kiss him.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you were going to be here?" Sirius asked. 'I would've done something with my hair' He thought.   
  
"Because I didn't want to disappoint you if I couldn't slip away from Old Bumblesnore," Crystal said, sending them both into fits of laughter. Ron chose this particular moment to return from his conversation with the King, looking at Sirius, and even more so at Crystal, as if they had both lost it.  
  
"Where IS she?" Ron asked in a whiny tone, interrupting the other two. Sirius rolled his eyes.  
  
"Ron, for the last time, I don't--" Sirius was cut off by several gasps, and Sirius, Crystal, and Ron turned to stare at the figure descending down the steps.  
  
Harmony was beyone words. Her dress looked like it had been designed after a fairy tale. It was really white, but it seemed to catch the light and shimmer in shades of blue and pink and green as she moved. The bodice hugged her frame until her waist, where it belled out and took up quite a lot of room. Her sleeves wrapped around her arms, and at the wrists they belled out, revealing her soft, elegant hands. Her crown was a thin band of silver the rested on top of her hair, pointing down at the center of her forhead. A thread of silver was wound around the delicate silver band.  
  
"Well Harmony, now you've gone and done it," Sirius said as she glided to her friends.  
  
"Did what?" She asked.  
  
"Ron's lost his voice and I don't think he's getting it back," He explained. Harmony giggled.  
  
"Ron?" She said, waving her hand in front of him. Ron shook himself out of his daze.  
  
"Huh?" He asked.  
  
"Well, we're improving," Harmony sighed, and Sirius and Crystal laughed. Ron rolled his eyes.  
  
"Let's eat," He suggested, holding his arm out to escort Harmony to the table. Many of the young bachelors present glared at the red haired human who had won the favor of the King and, more importantly, the Princess. Many had been trying to win her favor for years, some in hopes of the prize of Kingship, and others for just a touch from the beautiful girl. However, while she would dance and smile, each had known they didn't have a chance. Many didn't understand how this tall, awkward, red haired human had so quickly won her heart.  
  
Harmony and Ron were oblivious to this as they sat at the head table and lifted their forks. It was a joyous meal, with the four and the King involved in lively conversation the whole time. Sirius told Shinra where he had hidden the exploding cheeseballs, and the old King's eyes twinkled and made him look ten years younger.  
  
However, Harmony couldn't help but notice that Ron was rather fidgety the whole time. He kept looking over at Shinra and running his hands through his hair. He seemed nervous about something.  
  
"Ron, are you alright?" She asked quietly when her father was busy distracting Sirius and Crystal with a story she had heard a million times.  
  
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," He replied distractedly. Harmony frowned.  
  
"Ron..."  
  
"No, seriously Harmony, everything's okay," He said, smiling at her. This did nothing to appease Harmony's worries as Ron leapt back into the conversation with a vengence. She pulled Sirius aside.  
  
"What's wrong with Ron?" She asked, biting her bottom lip.  
  
"Ron?" Sirius asked, frowning as he studied the red headed boy. He certainly wasn't acting like normal. Suddenly, a look of realization dawned on his face.   
  
"It's the Valentine's Dance at Hogwarts too, you know," Sirius explained softly. "It's the big seventh year dance...I bet he's feeling a bit homesick."  
  
Harmony looked at Ron with compassion. She was not looking forward to being alone at Hogwarts for two months, she couldn't imagine what it must be like for Ron. Knowing his best friends thought he was dead and not being able to talk to anyone (well, except Ginny) for six months. She nodded at Sirius.  
  
"Let the dancing begin!" Shinra announced as desert was finished. Music started up, and Ron stood, holding out his hand to Harmony.  
  
"A dance, m'lady?" He asked, his voice somber, but his eyes dancing. Harmony felt her heart leap up in her chest. She didn't know why, but the very sound of his voice made her heart beat faster and her breathing more shallow.  
  
"Of course, my knight," She smiled, taking his hand and letting him lead her out onto the dance floor. It was a waltz. She smiled, remembering all those months ago when she had danced with Ron in the pavallion during a dance quite like this one. She remembered how much she had agonized over which dress to wear...which one Ron would like. She remembered being on air when he kissed her. She danced, twirling and spinning, losing herself in the music, reminiscing and feeling nothing but Ron's arms around her.  
  
Sirius and Crystal giggled from the table, for a moment watching the two hopelessly love sick teenagers.   
  
"Do you remember when we used to dance like that?" Sirius asked. Crystal snorted in response.  
  
"No," She replied. "But I remember James and Lily. Do you remember their first dance?"  
  
"Yeah," Sirius replied, looking down at his goblet with an odd expression on his face. Crystal immediately felt guitly.  
  
"You're not still carrying a grudge about that, are you?" She asked anxiously. She had been so lost in the memory of the perfect picture of James and Lily's first dance during their sixth year, that she had forgotten that Lily was supposed to be Sirius's date at that dance. It had caused the first and only major fight between Sirius and James.  
  
"No," Sirius sighed, setting down the goblet he had been absently twirling. "No, it was a stupid thing to get mad about in the first place."  
  
He was telling the truth about not being upset over James and Lily's dance. In fact, he had later realized it was one of the best things that happened to them, because it was the night they fell in love...and Sirius was not about to hinder that! No, that was not what was bothering him. It was just that when he saw the way Ron looked at Harmony, and the way she smiled back, he saw James in his black tux and Lily in her beautiful white dress, rivaling even to Harmony's, as they danced at their wedding: blissfully happy and innocent.   
  
"Do you want to dance?" He asked Crystal, afraid she would be insulted if he didn't.  
  
"No," She replied, watching Ron and Harmony with misty eyes.  
  
"Neither do I," He replied. They sat and watched in understood and comfortable silence.  
  
  
"Harmony, you know that I love you," Ron said, pulling Harmony back into his arms. She giggled.  
  
"Of course...Puffy!" She teased.  
  
"Hey!" He said, pretending to be offended, but not being able to stop the smile.  
  
"Face it, Ron, you're doomed to be a puff ball forever!" She laughed. Ron felt his heart skip a beat. He loved the way the light played with her eyes when she laughed.  
  
"Harmony, stop it, I'm trying to be serious here," He laughed.  
  
"About what?" Harmony asked, cocking her head to one side.  
  
"About...well...I was..." Ron began to stutter.  
  
"What are you trying to say, Ron?" Harmony asked in concern. Ron stopped dancing. He reached into his pocket.  
  
Ever since he was fourteen Ron had slaved, saving every penny he could muster, but never telling anyone. He never knew why, but he always knew one day he would be grateful. When Ginny had visited a few weeks ago, he had told where the money was hidden, and what to buy. His hand was now shaking as he pulled the little black box out of his pocket that was the fruit of all his labors.  
  
"Harmony...will you marry me?" He asked, opening the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. Harmony gasped as her hands flew to her mouth, feeling her eyes widen at this sight of the glittering ring...the glittering ENGAGEMENT ring. Everyone around them stopped dancing and turned to stare at the Princess and her human beau. All the chattering stopped...even the music came to an abrupt halt. The hall watched in anticipation as the Princess's eyes darted from Ron's hopeful face to the ring. She wanted to scream yes, but her body seemed to be in a state of shock where it wouldn't respond to her brain's messages.  
  
Just as Harmony began to function and screamed with delight, the hall was filled with a loud bang and several whistles. While Harmony threw her arms around Ron, the rest of the hall turned in surprise toward the noise.  
  
"You just had to ruin the moment, didn't you?" Crystal asked, rolling her eyes. Sirius stared back sheepishly, grinning through his 3 foot 7 1/2 inch long, scaggly, hot pink beard as he set down his goblet. 


	19. Of Acceptance, Arguements, and Cinnamon

Chapter Nineteen  
Of Acceptance, Arguements, and Cinnamon  
  
"Well, well, well, Puffy's engaged," Sirius teased Ron the next morning. "I'm impressed."  
  
"Shut up, Padfoot," Ron said, blushing. Sirius laughed. Obviously, while he had thought Ron was homesick, he had just been fretting over popping the question. Not that Sirius could blame him.  
  
"Harmy and Ronnie, Getting hitched up," Sirius sang to the tune of the childhood 'K-i-s-s-i-n-g' song. "Maybe Harmony will get knocked--"  
  
"That's quite enough out of you, Sirius," Harmony interrupted. Ron snickered. She smiled at him, rolling her eyes.   
  
"You two go on down to breakfast, there's some great cinnamon stuff," She said.   
  
"Aren't you coming?" Ron asked, looking crestfallen.  
  
"I already ate, Puff," She replied apologetically. "I promised Dad I'd go talk to him and make the last arrangements for going to Hogwarts." She explained.  
  
"Oh," Ron replied, a funny feeling in his stomach. He had half forgotten that she would be going to Hogwarts without him.  
  
"Go on then, Gem, don't let us keep you waiting," Sirius said, ushering the Princess along. She blew Ron a kiss before skipping off. Ron and Sirius rolled their eyes and continued their journey down to breakfast. Sirius was still singing under his breath.  
  
"Harmy and Ronnie, sittin on a T-Rex..." He muttered. Ron rolled his eyes.  
  
"So," Sirius said, deciding not push his luck any further. "How'd you work up the courage?"  
  
"Huh?" Ron said, distracted by the overwhelming smell of cinnamon. Sirius rolled his eyes.  
  
"The QUESTION, Puffball, the QUESTION!" Sirius replied, rolling his eyes.  
  
"What, aren't you and Crystal engaged?" Ron asked teasingly, helping himself to the cinnamon pancakes. Sirius looked a bit edgy.  
  
"Well, I guess we are technically, but..."  
  
"But what?" Ron asked curiously.  
  
"Well, we agreed not to get married until my name was cleared." Sirius explained. "As I'm stuck here until someone catches Pettigrew, who everyone thinks is dead, you remember, that's kinda not gonna happen."  
  
"You don't want to get married?"  
  
"It's not that I don't want to, it's just..." Sirius sighed uneasily. "I don't know. I just don't want to put Crystal in that situation."  
  
"Using her as an excuse, eh?" Ron teased. "Speaking of which, where is she?"  
  
"She went back to the castle," Sirius replied, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, Puffy, she's a professor."  
  
"Don't remind me," Ron replied. "I don't even want to think about professors."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Mindy was trying to survive her second staff meeting without falling asleep again. Flitwick and Sprout were bickering about the punishment of some 3rd year Hufflepuff that put the house in last place for the house cup, and bumped Ravenclaw up. McGonagall and Vector (who had been appointed Head of Slytherin House upon Severus' death) were rolling their eyes, and Dumbledore seemed to find it all very amusing. Everyone else was simply bored.  
  
"Ahem," Dumbledore said, regaining the attention of his professors. "There is a young lady from France who wishes to transfer here to Hogwarts."  
  
This stopped all the bickering. Mindy sat up straighter. This was the part of the meeting she had been waiting for. The 'student from France' was Harmony, although what alias she would be coming under, Mindy didn't have a clue.  
  
"A transfer student?" McGonagall echoed. "We haven't accepted a transfer student in nearly fifty years."  
  
"She went to a small private school in Nice," Dumbledore explained. "She was raised by her father, who recently died of natural causes. Without her father the private school was too expensive, even though there are only a few months left. So she has written and requested to finish the end of the here."  
  
"What year?" Flitwick (who was still rather miffed with Sprout) asked.  
  
"Seventh," Dumbledore replied.  
  
"So she would only be here for a few months total?" McGonagall asked suspiciously. She was obviously not in favor of a transfer student.  
  
"Yes. Her name is Brooke Silinster," He explained. Hm, Mindy thought, Not bad.  
  
"Why shouldn't she come?" Mindy asked casually.  
  
"Why not? There are plenty of reasons why not!" Crystal snapped. Mindy felt her temper flare. Why was Crystal, who knew perfectly well what was going on, objecting. She turned to snap, but saw Crystal wink at her. Mindy tried not to laugh at herself; Crystal was just keeping up the charade that she and Mindy still despised each other.  
  
"There are plenty of reasons WHY!" Mindy objected, standing up heatedly.  
  
"Such as?" Crystal challenged.  
  
"Ladies, ladies," Dumbledore interrupted, his eyes twinkling as Mindy stuttered, trying to answer Crystal's challenge. "Both arguements have a fair number of support, which are already known to all here. Please spare us the agony of ANOTHER spat." Mindy stared at him, trying to look angry but laughing inside. Was it possible that she and Crystal had fooled Bumblesnore?  
  
"Now, I would like to have a staff vote on this. Simply hands up for yes, down for no. The decision will be final, and I want no bickering afterward, understood?" He said, looking pointedly at Mindy, Crystal, Flitwick and Sprout.  
  
"All for yay?" He asked, and watched as hands were lifted. Mindy looked eagerly down the table. Crystal had taken the chance of raising her hand, which McGonagall seemed to find odd...of course, she had just been arguing against it. It was a good thing she did, because with Crystal's vote the staff was split exactly down the center.  
  
"A tie," Dumbledore sighed after two careful counts. "I suppose I will have to break it." After giving each member of the staff a hard look, as if challenging their decision, he lifted his own hand. Mindy sighed in relief.  
  
"I will write Miss Silinster and make the arrangements," He said, ignoring a scowl from McGonagall. "You will know when I have more details. Now, about this year's OWLs..."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED!!!!!"  
  
"Ow," Sirius muttered, putting a hand to his ear. He and Ron had been playing a peiceful game of after-breakfast chess when Harmony came running into the room screaming.  
  
"What?" Ron asked, confused.  
  
"I've been officially accepted!" Harmony squealed.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Ron demanded in frustration.  
  
"Hogwarts, duh!" She replied rolling her eyes. Then let out a squeal. "I'm so happy!" She twirled around and pecked Ron with a kiss.  
  
"Like, oh my god!" Sirius mocked, sounding like a teenage girl.  
  
"Oh, shut up Padfoot!" Harmony said, sticking her tongue out. "Let me have my fun."  
  
Ron stared at the chessboard, a funny feeling in his stomach. Did he want Harmony to go to Hogwarts? No, of course not. Ron wasn't even that sure HE wanted to return to the human world. Here, he had everything he had ever wanted and more. There he was invisible. Why was Harmony getting all giddy over leaving for two months? They were ENGAGED for Heaven's sakes! Ron started to second guess proposing marriage.  
  
"Ron...Ron...Hello?!" Harmony said, waving her hand around in front of the chessboard. Ron stood and stalked out of the room.  
  
"What's wrong with him?" Harmony frowned, looking after him.  
  
"Like I know," Sirius rolled his eyes. Teenagers, honestly.  
  
"I'd better go find out," She sighed, trotting after Ron, her acceptance letter still in her hand.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It did not take long for the final arrangements to be made for Harmony's Hogwarts debut. She had smoothed things over with Ron...so she thought. Ron was brewing a lot of things inside, but he smothered them and pretended they weren't there. Always a mistake, but Ron just refused to learn.  
  
Why? That was the unanswered question. Why did she have to leave? Was she going for him? She had come up with the idea when he was feeling homesick. From what Ron could decipher, she was going through this for the sake of tradition. According to Sprite law, to be accepted into society you had to go through 'testing'. They seemed to believe that to be accepted into human society one would have to go through much the same thing. So it was accepted thoughout the city that Harmony's time at Hogwarts would serve as her testing.  
  
Either those people had no idea of the terrors of the Testing, or they way overestimated the dangers of Hogwarts.  
  
She shouldn't go. She didn't have to go! Maybe the 'Testing' was just an excuse...Ron pondered for a moment. Harmony always spoke wistfully of the castle. Perhaps she wanted to go so badly that she decided to use Ron's occasional homesickness as her reasoning. Why did she want to leave him here?  
  
These thoughts were constantly haunting Ron, spinning through his mind as Harmony eagerly discussed plans for Hogwarts. He scowled, and avoided her giddy, happy attitude.  
  
Meanwhile, Harmony was confused. Why was Ron acting like this? She tried to reach out to him, but he seemed to be, out of nowhere, giving her the cold shoulder. She could feel the frustration building up inside of her. She would be leaving Marigold in a few days, why didn't he want to spend time with her?  
  
What, did Ron think she WANTED to go to Hogwarts? Hell no! She put on an optimistic, smiling face, trying to look forward to it. But she was going for him! For heaven's sake, he missed them! Whether he was willing to admit it or not, he missed Hogwarts, and Harry Potter, and that Hermione girl, and that huge family of his. She was going so HE could go back!  
  
With this 'testing' she would be representing the whole kingdom! Why couldn't Ron understand that she was trying to help not only themselves, but the human-sprite relationship as a whole! The sprites would accept the humans with Harmony's return, and (so she hoped) the humans would accept the sprites. This wasn't all about herself and Ron!  
  
Both Harmony and Ron's charades of smiling faces were becoming thin as the last night before Harmony's return to Hogwarts. They wanted desperately to bridge the gap that had been slowly widening between them over the last two weeks.  
  
That night, Harmony was in her bedroom, packing her final belongings slowly. She couldn't believe she was leaving Marigold for two months. She had hardly ever been away from home for more than two days! While some hidden recess of her mind was excited, the rest of her was drowning in fear and doubt. Not only about the trip, but about Ron. This seperation would certainly do nothing to help their relationship. She mused with a smile whether or not abscence really DID make the heart grow fonder.  
  
"Hey," Harmony jumped a foot in the air, even though Ron's voice was soft. He walked in slowly.  
  
"You scared me," Harmony said, clutching her heart.  
  
"Sorry," He replied. Ron strode across the room, and her eyes were locked on his every move. He leaned his tall frame against the mantle over her fireplace. Harmony shivered, she could only see his silouhette against the flames and it made him look even taller than normal and more than a bit intimidating.  
  
There was an awkward silence. Harmony placed something in her bag then turned to Ron. He had a scowl on the half of his face she could see in the flickering firelight. She cringed, realizing how terrible this was. Never before had she wanted to talk to Ron and not been able to find the words. As a matter of fact Ron was the only person she had ever been able to ALWAYS talk to.   
  
"Why are you leaving?" He muttered suddenly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me. Why?"  
  
"Ron, I don't think I understand--"  
  
"Don't play dumb with me!" He spat turning to face her. Harmony nearly shrank away. She could only see half of his face in the flickering firelight.  
  
"I'm not playing dumb with anyone." She insisted.  
  
"Then why are you leaving?"  
  
"Because...because...what, do you expect me to NOT go?!" She shouted, hardly able to believe what she was hearing. How could he not know her reasons for going to Hogwarts?  
  
"Well, I think that would be the wise decision," He said queitly.  
  
"To be a coward?" She demanded feircly. "To suddenly back out at the last moment?"  
  
"It would be better than going!"  
  
"Why? Are you scared of the big bad castle?"  
  
"I never said that, Harmony, don't put words in my mouth!"  
  
"Then why not go? Harry Potter, is it him you fear?"  
  
"Why do you think I am afraid?"  
  
"Why are you trying to make me stay?"  
  
"Why are you shouting?"  
  
"I AM NOT SHOUTING!" Harmony screamed. Ron rolled his eyes, but she refused to be wavered. "I am not shouting," She said again, more quietly this time. "And I am going to Hogwarts."  
  
"I still don't understand why," He scoffed. "I don't want to return."  
  
"Well, this isn't all about you!" Harmony said furiously, feeling her cheeks redden with frustration and building anger.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Don't get so cocky Ron! If I go, maybe I can fix the whole sprite/human relationship as a whole. This isn't just about you and me!"  
  
"There you go again, trying to save the world. You sound like Harry."  
  
"Don't be so damn self-centered!" She screamed.  
  
"Why in the hell not?"  
  
"Because...because you're an egocentric jerk, that's why!" Harmony screamed, feeling sobs in her throat. Who was this man, with wild eyes and such a disregard for everything but himself? Not Ron, not her sweet Ron. This could not be the man she was going to marry...could it?  
  
"So what if I am?" He roared. "I've got to look out for myself, and what I think is right!"  
  
"STOP YELLING AT ME!!"  
  
"Who's yelling?!"  
  
"Damn it, Ron!" Harmony screamed. Her voice was raw and she could feel the tears starting to stream down her cheeks. She tore the beautiful ring off her left hand and lobbed it at him with all her strength through her tears.  
  
"Go to hell, Ron Weasley!" She yelled. He ducked and the wall hit the wall behind him, bounced off and went rolling to the floor. Ron stared at it. The ring. The ring he had bought with the money he had slaved for, saved, and scrapped. The pretty diamond engagement ring was now lying at his feet.  
  
His gaze turned back to Harmony, who stared at him defiantly, fighting the urge to cringe. His eyes were colder than Siberian wind, the iced blue broken by a fiery red lock hanging in his vision.   
  
"Very well then, Your Majesty." He spat, his words bound with white flames of rage yet dripping black icy depths of hate. She watched him, her cheeks stained with tears, as he turned and stalked from her room. It wasn't until then that she fell to the floor and started feeling around desperately for her ring. When she found it, she held it to her heart and sobbed.  
  
The princess cried herself to sleep on the cold stone floor clutching desperately to the symbol of her happiness lost. 


	20. Of Hogwarts, Hats, and Arrivals

Chapter Twenty  
Of Hogwarts, Hats, and Arrivals  
  
A/N: Okay, I haven't updated in FOREVER, and I apologize. However, I have an excuse; I'm working on an AWESOME new fic that (I think) is going to be called 'Never turn back'. So, on that note, I'm going to leave you all to read and especially REVIEW! Big thanks to Star*dust for finally catching up! ^_^ Anyhoozles...  
  
  
Hogwarts Castle was incredibly tall. Tall and foreboding. Harmony swallowed down both the fear and her tears.  
  
The goodbyes had not gone well. She had cried, of course, but not just because she was leaving. Ron hadn't even showed up. Shinra wisely didn't say anything, but Sirius had given her a funny look. In any case, she missed Sirius and her father already. Did she miss Ron?  
  
Harmony told herself no. Why would she miss him? Because they had just had a screaming match and broke up? No, she was still mad about that, right?  
  
Then why was she wearing the ring on a gold chain around her neck?  
  
Harmony was one thing for certain; confused. Confused, angry, and depressed. But she had to put it underneath, hide it away. Here she was, climbing the front steps of Hogwarts. She had to put on a smiling face.  
  
She hadn't undergone much in the way of disguise. Her ears were enchanted, of course. It wouldn't do well for the humans to see her tall, pointy ears. That didn't bother her. What did bother her was the haircut. Harmony's beautiful, ankle-length, wavy, golden hair had been chopped up to her waist. Well, chopped wasn't really an appropriate word since it had been painstakingly snipped by the city's best hairdresser just this morning, but it didn't make any difference to Harmony.  
  
She understood why, of course. While ankle-length hair was the norm in Marigold, it was practically unheard of in the human world according to Sirius and...him. Anyway, no one would've dared touched a single strand of her hair if she hadn't permitted them to. She did, ever so reluctantly, give her consent...much to her current dismay. Her head felt considerably lighter without half its normal hair. She tried to focus on this as a cause to be upset, rather than certain...other...things.  
  
She pushed Ron out of her head. She HAD to focus!  
  
Nervously, she knocked on the huge wooden doors. Yes, Hogwarts was terrifying in her position. Not just because she was trying to fool all the defense mechanisms into accepting an alias, but also because she was a Slytherin. The castle seemed to frown upon her, knowing her blood had betrayed it before.  
  
"Miss Silinster?" A sharp voice cut through Harmony's thoughts. She almost didn't look up. She had told everyone to call her Brooke recently, but no one really listened. She was going to have a hard time adjusting to a new name.  
  
Harmony looked up and nearly winced. She did NOT like the look on this woman's face. A careful inspection and she came to the conclusion that this strict looking woman with the square spectacles had to be Minerva McGonagall, terror of troublemakers.  
  
"Yes?" Harmony asked nervously. McGonagall seemed to be looking over her in a way she didn't really like.  
  
"Come with me," She instructed. Harmony gulped and obeyed. She gasped when she entered the Entrance Hall...it was not at all like she expected. It was magnificent. Awe-inspiring. Unbelievable. Adjectives she had half forgotten flew through her mind.  
  
"This way," Professor McGonagall said, trying to hide a twitching smile at the look on the young girl's face. She seemed to be something beyond impressed...a good way to get on the professor's good side. Minerva was very proud of her school.  
  
Harmony's awe continued as she was lead up to Dumbledore's office. Hogwarts put Slytherin's Palace in Marigold to shame...which was odd considering the layout was nearly identical. But there was just something about Hogwarts, some aura around it, which forced you to be impressed.  
  
"Cadbury," McGonagall commanded the gargoyle, and Harmony watched as it sprung away for them. She was stopped, staring, but McGonagall didn't even blink an eye, and Harmony found herself running to make sure she didn't get left behind.  
  
Harmony immediately realized that in Slytherin's Palace she would be walking down the red carpet to her father's throne. She could almost see the well-dressed dukes of the council milling around. She could almost hear her father's strong, commanding voice.  
  
Her father. Harmony felt a pang in her side. She missed him already. He and Harmony were close, but not that close...especially since Ron had come. She felt anger surge through her veins. Had she sacrificed her relationship with her father for that creep?  
  
She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard McGonagall knocking on a solid oak door. She tensed...this was it. She was going to meet Albus Dumbledore. THE Albus Dumbledore. Harmony shivered.  
  
"Good afternoon Minerva," A deep voice rang into the corridor. "Aha, Miss Silinster, do come in."  
  
"Okay," Harmony squeaked. Dumbledore was jolly, of course, but Harmony was quite perceptive. Dumbledore was also wise, and powerful, and full of rage balanced by love. The balance, Harmony could tell, was teetering. You did not push Albus Dumbledore.  
  
"Please, take a seat Miss Silinster," He smiled. She did so, all the while looking around the room. This office definitely had cooler stuff than her dad's throne room! "I am Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster here. This is Professor McGonagall, my deputy Headmistress, who teaches Transfiguration." Harmony smiled weakly at McGonagall.  
  
"Now, if you would please put on the sorting hat," Dumbledore said, taking a tattered hat down from the shelf. "You will be sorted into your appropriate house. There are four: Gryffindor for the brave, Ravenclaw for the wise, Hufflepuff for the loyal, and Slytherin for the cunning."  
  
Slytherin for the cunning. The words echoed in Harmony's head. Slytherin House was not exactly an enviable residence from what she understood of Sirius and Ron's tales. She was a Slytherin, and that was her true house. But she knew before the hat even touched her head that she would be in Gryffindor. It was some spell the Founders had used to make sure all the Heirs were placed in the same house. Slytherin, obviously, did the same.  
  
"Hmm...very interesting..." The hat mumbled. Harmony felt her eyes widen. The hat was talking? "Well, your stay here should be QUITE interesting, Miss Slytherin..."  
  
*You know my name?* Harmony thought in shock.  
  
"Why of course!" The hat replied. "You can't fool me. Yes, you belong in Slytherin, but being an Heir I can't exactly do that. My oh my! You do have the Gryffindor bravery going for you..."  
  
*I do?*  
  
"Yes, child! And a good thing too, the battle is soon to come, oh yes! Well, I'd better sort you before old Dumbledore gets worried. He's been doing a lot of that in his old age...  
  
*Exactly how old is Dumbledore?*  
  
"Oh, come now! Even I'm not that cruel!" The hat said gleefully. "You don't go around telling people that their headmaster is 150 years old."  
  
*150?!*  
  
"Why yes! But remember, I didn't tell you."  
  
*Blackmail. Major, MAJOR blackmail*  
  
"I know you DO belong in Slytherin!" He (as Harmony was beginning to think of the hat) said, sounding absolutely ecstatic. "Well, I'd better put you where you're meant to be anyway...  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Harmony sighed with relief as the hat was taken off her head. That was the weirdest experience of her life...  
  
"Well, Miss Silinster, welcome to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, smiling warmly. "Minerva, will you take her up to Gryffindor Tower? She can wander the castle and try not to get lost until lunch." He winked at Harmony, who stared. Little did he know, there was no way she was going to get lost! This castle was her home!  
  
Well, exactly like her home, anyway.  
  
"Very well," Minerva replied. She beckoned for Harmony to follow her out of the office.  
  
"Farewell, Miss Silinster, and good luck!" The jovial headmaster said. Harmony nodded and gulped. She didn't like this. Not at all.  
  
"I am the Head of Gryffindor House," McGonagall explained as they walked. "Each house can earn or lose House points. At the end of the year the house with the most points wins the House Cup. Gryffindor is currently in the lead, and we have won for the last six years." She shot Harmony a look that said quite clearly 'So don't you go screwing it up'.  
  
Harmony nodded bleakly, following McGonagall through the mazes that would've been confusing had she not lived somewhere identical for her entire life. She found herself in front of a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress.  
  
"Who is this, Minerva?" The lady in the portrait asked curiously.  
  
"Her name is Brook Silinster, and she's a transfer student." McGonagall snapped.  
  
"Is she now? What year?" The Fat Lady asked curiously.  
  
"Seventh, if you can believe it."  
  
"Transferring so late in the year?" The Fat Lady asked, looking at Harmony suspiciously.  
  
"My family was having some financial difficulties," Harmony squeaked. McGonagall whispered something inaudible.  
  
"Oh my, I'm so sorry dearie!" The Lady exclaimed, and Harmony managed a smile. She was supposed to be a young girl grieving the death of her mother, right? Or was it her father? Or maybe a grandparent....  
  
She definitely should've paid more attention to Sirius when he was explaining her alter personality instead of being distracted by Ron.  
  
"It's okay," She mumbled.  
  
"Well, um, password?" The Lady asked.  
  
"French onion soup," McGonagall replied, and the Fat Lady opened up graciously to reveal a cozy room decorated in scarlet.  
  
"Don't forget the password." McGonagall instructed. "This is the Gryffindor common room. Up the flight of stairs on the right are the girl's dormitories. The second on the left is yours. You will see that your things are already there."  
  
"Thank you, Professor," Harmony said sincerely. The Deputy Headmistress gave the girl a queer smile.  
  
"I have a class to teach now. Feel free to roam to corridors. Be at the Great Hall for lunch and a few of your classmates will take you to your next class."  
  
"Thank you again."  
  
"Good day, Miss Silinster."  
  
"Bye," Harmony whispered. Her eyes were wide with shock as she looked around the room. The decorating was different, sure, but she recognized it immediately.  
  
Ron's quarters.  
  
Damn it! She would be spending all her time here, and it was parallel with Ron's room in Marigold. That was all she could think of as she looked around. She willed the tears not to fall, swallowing and blinking fiercely. She missed Ron, she missed home, she missed everything.  
  
And she hadn't even been at Hogwarts for a whole hour yet!  
  
She put herself together and stuck her chin out stubbornly. She refused to let the castle win its little game. However, she didn't feel ready to confront this particular room as of yet. Instead, she decided to seize hold of her liberties and explore. She already knew where some things were, of course, but she didn't know what the rooms in Marigold translated to here.  
  
She found herself wandering around aimlessly. The castle was really quite spectacular, and Harmony felt a mounting respect for the interior decorator. As she ambled around the empty stone halls, she realized that she was near the secondary ballroom, or whatever that was here. Curiously, she approached it. The two wooden doors were open, and she stepped timidly inside. She gasped.  
  
Books. That was all that registered in Harmony's mind as she gazed in wonder at what had to be the library. She felt her eyelids fall, and she could see the ballroom's grandeur in the eye of her memory. She saw the beautiful figures dancing gracefully, and she could see her father laughing jovially with one of his more favored subjects.   
  
She pried her eyes apart, convincing herself that this room held books, not dancing upper class sprites. She had to blink to keep more tears away. The laughter and music and light chatter seemed to echo in the room.  
  
"Can I help you, dear?" A voice asked. Harmony looked up in surprise to see a thin woman standing before her, who could only be the librarian.  
  
"I'm the new transfer," Harmony explained meekly.  
  
"I know that," The woman said, smiling. She seemed sympathetic to Brooke Silinster. "I am Madame Pince, the Librarian here. Now, do you need anything?"  
  
"Um...I think I got lost." Harmony lied. "Could you tell me the way to the Great Hall?"  
  
"Certainly," Madame Pince continued with very specific instructions. Harmony mumbled her thanks and turned to go down to lunch...which she was absolutely dreading.  
  
She would be meeting Harry Potter for the first time.  
  
It wasn't that she thought he was just going to jump up and curse her or anything. It was just the simple fact that she was the heir of Slytherin, and he of Gryffindor. The enemies. Would he be suspicious? Would he discover that she wasn't who she said she was?  
  
No, Hermione Granger was more likely to solve that mystery. In Harmony's eyes Hermione was a lesser, but nonetheless dangerous, threat. She was going to have to stop thinking of them as threats and obstacles! She had to make friends with these two.  
  
Harmony was still trying to figure out how she was going to introduce herself when she heard the bell ring, signaling lunch was to begin. She gritted her teeth, preparing for the worst, and joined the throng entering the Hall.  
  
"Hey! Hey you!" Harmony ignored the calls around you. "Excuse me!" The same voice said, tapping Harmony's shoulder. She spun around in surprise to see a girl about her age with brown hair and a wide smile. "You're the new transfer student aren't you?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm Brooke," Harmony replied, feeling relieved. This girl was friendly enough.  
  
"Which House are you in?" The girl asked curiously.  
  
"Gryffindor," Harmony replied, feeling somewhat proud.  
  
"Wonderful, so am I!" She exclaimed. "I'm Hermione Granger, Head Girl, by the way." Harmony felt her stomach tighten. So THIS was the famed Hermione.  
  
"Herm!" A boy with messy black hair came up behind Hermione and pecked her on the cheek. Harmony's eyes widened. Messy jet-black hair, green eyes, bookworm glasses, lightening scar...  
  
This had to be Harry Potter.  
  
"Who this?" He asked, nodding at Harmony, who gulped.  
  
"Brook Silinster, the new transfer. She's in Gryffindor." Hermione smiled.  
  
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" Harry said, grinning. Harmony suddenly felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her. These two were just a couple of friendly teenagers...very powerful friendly teenagers with the future of the world in their hands, but friendly teenagers nonetheless. Harmony let out a laugh.  
  
"Do I have something on my face?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yeah a scar." She said, grinning. "No, seriously it's just that I'm meeting the famous Harry Potter, and you're not near as pompous as I'd thought you'd be." She smiled. Harry grinned.  
  
"C'mon, before all the seats are taken!" He exclaimed. Harry and Hermione led the way into the Great Hall and Harmony followed, her mind a whirlwind of wonder and her heart a whirlwind of emotion. God, this place looked like the Grand Ballroom of Slytherin's Palace. She nearly whimpered when her eyes involuntarily fell on the place Ron had proposed to her.  
  
"It is quite breathtaking, isn't it?" Hermione asked, looking around the Hall fondly.  
  
"Yes," Harmony whispered. "You have no idea." Lunch appeared and Harmony kept herself busy for a few moments with eating.  
  
"Hey, Harry, 'Mione, who's this?" A tall black boy sat down near them.  
  
"Brooke, the new transfer student," Hermione exclaimed. "I guess you'll need to be introduced to everyone." She said to Harmony, who smiled gratefully. Her eyes were flying through the room, taking in the amazing ceiling and surroundings and unforgettable, tear-jerking memories.  
  
"This is Dean Thomas," Hermione began. "Sitting next to him is Seamus Finnagen."  
  
"Hello!" Seamus said, waving.  
  
"Those two girls are Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, who share our dorm. That's Neville Longbottom, also in our year, he's a tad bit forgetful..."  
  
"Tad bit?" Dean snorted. They all laughed, and Harmony smiled meekly.  
  
"That's Colin Creevey, a wild fan of Harry's-" Here, Harmony noticed, Harry flushed scarlet. He was obviously still not comfortable with fame. "And over there is Mary Henderson..."  
  
Hermione continued rambling off names of practically everyone sitting at the Gryffindor table. Harmony didn't mind though. She couldn't remember ever having seen so many people her own age.  
  
"Hermione, who's this?" A familiar voice asked. Harmony looked up and grinned at Ginny Weasley, who flashed the same grin back.  
  
"This is Brooke Silinster," Hermione replied. She seemed proud of her ability to make introductions or something. "Brooke, this is Ginny Weasley, a sixth year."  
  
"Hello Ginny, are you in Gryffindor?" Harmony asked innocently. However, she was holding in laughter, and she could see the same in Ginny's eyes.  
  
"Yes," She replied.  
  
"Then why aren't you eating over here?" Harmony asked with an innocent voice but a devilish smile.  
  
"She's dating Draco Malfoy," Hermione explained, frowning.  
  
"The nastiest, slimiest, ugliest-"  
  
"That's quite enough, Harry," Ginny snapped. She glared at Harmony, who winked. "I'm going back to the Slytherin table!" She announced haughtily. Harmony sighed, wishing she, too, could return to Slytherin table.  
  
"Mad. Absolutely mad." Seamus muttered, before returning to conversation with Dean.  
  
"So what's our next class?" Harmony asked. "I guess I'll be going."  
  
"Potions," Hermione replied.  
  
"You're lucky you transferred after we got Mindy," Harry said. "Snape was-"  
  
"Harry, show a little respect!" Hermione interrupted, sounding horrified.  
  
"What happened?" Harmony asked, suddenly realizing how much she already knew, and that her feigned ignorance was not going to stop here.  
  
"He died." Hermione replied shortly.  
  
"Oh," The rest of the conversation was about the teachers and classes as they finished their lunch. Harmony was quite relieved that her first class at Hogwarts would be taught by someone she knew.  
  
The Potions dungeons were somewhat creepy, even without a creepy professor to match. Harmony shivered. She didn't like this place. Not at all. This represented the evil side of Slytherin. Just like people like Snape to give the Slytherins a bad rep!  
  
"Okay, roll call!" Mindy chirped as they entered the classroom. Harmony mused briefly on how she could be so cheery in a place like this. The class took their seats, chattering. They only quieted slightly when Mindy called for "Lavender Brown"  
  
"Okay, class, we have a new student today!" Mindy announced, grinning at Harmony, who groaned inwardly. This was going to be embarrassing... "Please, stand up Miss..."  
  
"Silinster." Harmony said in a clear voice. "My name is Brooke Silinster."   
  
"Really?" Mindy asked with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes said 'Great name, hun!'. "Tell us about yourself, Miss Silinster."  
  
"Um..." Harmony bit her lip. "I live in France, and I...love music and I enjoy...er ...history and I don't like the color maroon." She finished her little speech and sat down.   
  
"Wonderful!" Mindy said. "Now, today we will be starting the Sonya Solution. Who knows what that is? Miss Silinster?" Mindy looked at Harmony expectantly.  
  
"Uh..." Harmony racked her brain. Sonya Solution? What the heck was that? "It, um, well, it...controls the mind."  
  
"Incorrect, Miss Silinster," Mindy said cheerfully. "But ten points to Gryffindor for the effort. Miss Granger?"  
  
"The Sonya Solution was invented by Sonya Scarlet, after her husband was successfully seduced and devoured by a veela. It is the only known way to prevent a veela attack."  
  
"Fabulous!" The professor squealed. "Fifteen points to Gryffindor!"  
  
"Oh," Harmony muttered, feeling stupid.  
  
Mindy began to lecture, which she was very talented at. The class attempted to take notes and follow her fast paced speech at the same time, but in the end only Hermione was that talented. The solutions themselves were rather difficult (but they were, after all, supposed to be seventh years) so there were undoubtedly a few mishaps...most in the form of Neville Longbottom.   
  
All in all, it was a good day for all the seventh years. All except one.  
  
That night, Harmony stared up at the ceiling four-poster. She couldn't think of anything but Marigold, and the people there. One person in particular, but she couldn't even bring herself to say it in her thoughts. However, her mind's eye kept seeing visions of him, and Sirius and her father. Before she knew what was going on, she was crying.  
  
Stop it, Harmony, she scolded herself. You're in Gryffindor, you can't be a cry baby. She that maybe a glass of water would help. She climbed out of bed and got her water. After a sip, she managed a smile. But it was short lived.  
  
As she passed Hermione's bed, she saw a picture of Ron, laughing and flashing his irresistible smile.  
  
She dropped her glass, allowing the liquid and glass to spread across the floor, and fell into bed sobbing. 


	21. Of Quizes, Quidditch, and Teatime

A/N: Okay, I don't know if ANY of you are actually going to come back for this chapter, it's been so long since I updated. *Sigh* I'm sorry. HOWEVER: I've already written chapter 22!! Yay! ^_^ Okay, so...at most there's 3 chapters to go. Maybe two, I'm not sure yet. But anyway, have fun with this chapter, it's...interesting. Oh yeah, and there's a Quidditch game! Hooray!  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-One  
Of Quizes, Quidditch, and Teatime  
  
  
"It seems we have a new student," Professor Jenkins sneered. Harmony looked up at her, startled. Why was Crystal being so mean all of a sudden?  
  
As a matter of fact, Crystal had decided that Mindy's over familiar attitude was going to get "Brooke" caught. After a council with Mindy and Remus, Crystal agreed to get rather...Snape-ish toward Harmony.  
  
These facts all passed through Crystal's mind in a splintered second, and then she continued sneering down at "Brooke Silinster", and consequently Harry Potter and Hermione Granger as well. "Miss Silinster," She continued, in the sarcasm the alias deserved, "Are you enjoying your little stay here in Hogwarts?"  
  
"Yes, Cry-Professor," Harmony squeaked.  
  
"Hopefully you've remembered to study as well?"  
  
"Yes, Professor," Crystal didn't realize how well she was playing her part. Many of her pupils (Neville in particular) were having bad flashbacks starring their old Potions master.  
  
"Very well," Crystal said, smiling down at her newest pupil before sweeping to her desk. "I will be the judge of that." With a flourish, she produced a thick stack of papers. "Today, class, we will have a pop quiz in honor of our new friend."  
  
The class groaned, and Harmony stared at Crystal in open-mouthed shock. What the HELL? What have I done? Harmony thought to herself furiously. She made a mental note not to allow Crystal back into Marigold to visit Sirius.  
  
She took on of the test packets (the word 'quiz' does it an injustice-it was four pages long) and surveyed the first page.  
  
1. Manticore breath has what affect on domestic dogs?  
2. How does fire hinder lethifold reproduction?  
  
WHAT?! Harmony's mind screamed as she stared down the seemingly never-ending list of ridiculously hard questions right down to '206. Compare and contrast werewolf and vampire fangs.' This was ridiculous! She looked around, and was relieved to see everyone around with a look on his or her face similar to the one she imagined to be on hers, with the obvious exception of Hermione, who was already hard at work. She then turned to glare at Crystal, who was searching her class with the eyes of a hawk. They made eye contact...  
  
And Crystal winked.  
  
Harmony rolled her own eyes. She realized that Crystal was just acting her part to help hide 'Brooke's' identity. She silently gave her professor an Academy award and then turned to attempt passing the "quiz."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Life in Marigold was dull. For Ron, it was downright miserable. He moped around the palace, to the point where both Sirius and Shinra were getting worried about his health.  
  
They both knew that Harmony hadn't parted on the best of terms with Ron, but neither of them understood the extent of what had happened. Sirius tried to approach Ron, but he got only the cold shoulder.  
  
Ron didn't realize how frustrating he had become. Harmony was plaguing his thoughts, and his mind would tolerate little else. Every day after she left the palace seemed to hold too many memories.  
  
But what could he do? Leave, perhaps, but where to? Hogwarts was obviously out of the question, as was practically all the human world. His home in Marigold was the palace, and there was nowhere else he could really go.  
  
His solution? Ron had taken to turning into a badger and disappearing into the forest for hours on end. The forest that had inspired fear into him during his years at Hogwarts had now become the only thing he took any comfort in. Perhaps if Hagrid would've been more observant during his groundkeeper's duties, he would've noticed a badger skirting the edge of the forest, its liquid eyes gazing intently at the castle.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It took Harmony a good three weeks to get used to her life as Brooke Silinster. Not to mention the name itself, she had to adjust to teachers, classes, students, waking up, eating school food, teenage gossip, Quidditch excitement, rivalry with Slytherin, and most of all being friends with Harry and Hermione. It was culture shock for the sheltered Princess of Slytherin's Palace.  
  
And it was a good thing she was in the groove of things by then, because the first mention of Ron came up, and she realized she had to pretend she didn't know who he was or anything about him.  
  
Joy of joys.  
  
It was Friday, and everyone was buzzed about tomorrow's Quidditch game, Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. The winner would be facing Slytherin for the Cup. Harry's team had gone undefeated. He was determined to win in Ron's name. So if you can imagine an extremely nervous Harry fretting over a tattered book of strategies, Hermione pouring over a Runes chart, but stopping every other moment to look up worriedly at Harry, with Harmony frowning both at her essay and the nervous couple, then you know where we stand.  
  
"Harry, are you alright?" Harmony asked when she couldn't stand the silence any longer. He jumped.  
  
"Huh? Yeah, yeah, Brooke, I'm fine," He replied absently, waving her off. Harmony and Hermione exchanged looks.  
  
"I don't think you are, Harry," Hermione said firmly. He looked up again, his emerald eyes searching her cinnamon ones. Watching the staring contest, Harmony wondered if she had started trouble. Just like the heir of Slytherin to turn Gryffindor and Ravenclaw against each other, she thought sarcastically.  
  
"I'm fine, Hermione," Harry finally said, annunciating every word carefully.  
  
"You hardly touched your dinner!" She wailed, causing both Harry and Harmony to start. She had obviously been worrying about this forever. "Even Ron ate before a Quidditch game-"  
  
"Yeah, a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk."  
  
"Well, at least it was something!"  
  
"Who?" Muttering that one syllable was on of the hardest things Harmony Zalaras Slytherin ever forced herself to do. Pretend she didn't know Ron? That she'd never head of him? She was in love with him! Somehow, her natural Slytherin lying nature covered all this.  
  
"Who what?" Harry asked. She gulped.  
  
"Who's Ron?" The effect of her question was immediate. Hermione bit her lip and looked at Harry, who sighed and put his head in his hands.  
  
"He was a friend of ours," Hermione explained softly. "A very dear friend."  
  
"Was?" The was heart wrenching for Harmony to watch. She had never realized how very close Ron was to them. To see them nearly in tears...when she knew he was alive...  
  
"He's dead." Harry said flatly, not lifting his head. "Voldemort."  
  
"Oh no..." Harmony said, for lack of anything better. She remembered what Ron had said about Harry and Hermione "not caring" and felt a wave of anger sear through her. He didn't have a CLUE!  
  
"Yeah," Harry said. He looked down at his strategy booklet for a moment, then stood and bounded upstairs toward his dorm.  
  
"I'm sorry," Harmony whispered. "I didn't know." It was almost the truth.  
  
"I know, Brooke," Hermione replied. "It's not your fault." Harmony was surprised to see the Head Girl wiping away tears. "Goodnight." And with that she stood and, like Harry, went to bed.  
  
Harmony sat down and wondered what she had done. And, more importantly, if she had messed up Gryffindor's chances for winning tomorrow's match...  
  
  
Saturday dawned bright and sunny, with a crisp breeze in the mid April air. Harry woke up before anyone else, with the possible exception of Corinne Sevenish, the Ravenclaw captain. At breakfast he ate next to nothing, despite Hermione's wheedling and Brooke's reassurances.  
  
His pep talk was short, but his team knew what he was thinking of. Noelle Pineapple, a short blonde fifth year, gulped. She had taken Ron Weasley's position as keeper when he failed to be found before Quidditch season, and she got the feeling Harry didn't like her. (Unfortunately, Noelle got the feeling that one of the chasers and fellow fifth years, Ezekiel Banana, liked her a little too much...)  
  
So, when the Gryffindor team marched onto the field, grim faced but determined, they were all too caught up in their own worlds to pay the screaming spectators much attention.  
  
"And here come the Gryffindors: Pineapple, Banana, Greensleeves, Post, Fredbro, Swiss, and POTTER!" The crowd screamed. "Then the Ravenclaws: Twobuck, Christo, Vail, Turpin, Long, Gerst, and SEVENISH!" Once again, the crowd screamed. Harry tried to force himself to listen to the commentary as if it weren't Colin Creevey's squeaky voice. Madame Hooch came out and did her thing, then they were off.  
  
For a moment, Harry was aware of nothing except the exhilaration of flying. However, he shook his head and turned his attention to the commentary.  
  
"-Post to Banana, Banana to Gree-NO! IT'S INTERCEPTED!! Turpin in possession for Ravenclaw, passes to Vail, passes to Christo, back to Vail-WAIT! It's a fake! Christo passes to Turpin. She shoots...SHE SCORES!" Harry groaned as the score became 0-10. As the game continued, Gryffindor fell further and further behind. Noelle seemed a little off today, and Ezekiel seemed to be a bit over concerned with Noelle.  
  
Harry gritted his teeth as Christo scored again, bringing the score to 90-20. Brad Swiss was Mike Fredbro, his beaters, were taking out their frustration on the Ravenclaw chasers, and be default Lizzy Post was left free to grab the quaffle and score. 'Great,' Harry thought, 'Now we're only 60 points down.'  
  
"Just remember Harry, you were the youngest seeker for a century!" Harry could hear Ron's voice as clearly as if he were standing next to him. "There's no way we can lose." These had been his words right before they faced Hufflepuff for the Cup last year. The memory brought him strength, and a new resolve.  
  
"Greensleeves in possession, and she's WIDE open! She takes it down the field, dodges a bludger from Gerst and-wait a second, what is Potter doing?!" The whole stadium turned its attention to the scarlet blur streaming across the field toward the Ravenclaw goal posts.  
  
"Potter's seen the snitch!" Colin cried excitedly. "Sevenish tries to follow, but Potter's a speed demon on that broom. He-HE HAS THE SNITCH! POTTER CAPTURES THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS 180-100!!" Uproar. It's really the only word to describe the chaos that ensued. "GRYFFINDOR IS GOING TO THE CUP FOR THE SIXTH YEAR RUNNING!!!"   
  
Harry landed among screaming fans and teammates. He accepted their congratulations (although no one used such fancy words) gracefully, and fought his way through to change, as his housemates flocked up to the tower to party. He was the last one to leave the lockers, and was pleasantly surprised to find Hermione waiting for him.  
  
"Hey," She said when he emerged. She kissed him, then smiled. "Congratulations on your big win." Well, of course Hermione used the big words.  
  
"Today the Quidditch Cup, tomorrow the world!" Harry joked. Hermione laughed even though she knew his heart wasn't in it by the way he was half-smiling. Harry laced his fingers through hers. A brief silence ensued.  
  
"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked finally. He sighed.   
  
"Yeah, Herm, I'm fine," She could tell by his tone that the subject was closed, and therefore he was NOT okay.  
  
"So," She said lightly, trying to change the subject. "What do you think of Brooke?"  
  
"She's cool," He shrugged. Biting her lip, Hermione continued nervously.   
  
"She didn't mean to bring up Ron, you know."  
  
"Yeah," Harry said heavily. "Yeah, I know."  
  
Neither of them noticed the emerald green snake hiding in the grass nearby, its liquid silver eyes watching their every move. 'Oh yes,' it thought, 'I did know.' The snake waited until the two disappeared into the castle before morphing into its true form.  
  
Harmony was nearly in tears. Why couldn't she just TELL them? But no, she knew this wasn't an option. She looked longingly toward the forest, before turning to go back to the castle-Hogwarts, that is.  
  
She didn't notice the badger hiding in the trees.  
  
When Harmony reached the common room, she found a splendid party in action, with the Quidditch team in the middle of it all. She glanced at it unenthusiastically, before turning to go up to her dorm. Thankfully she found it deserted.   
  
However, no sooner had she flopped into bed then she heard a knock at the door. With a groan, she forced herself up and to the door, preparing herself for a talk with Hermione. However, when she opened the door, she discovered that it wasn't Hermione at all.  
  
It was Ginny.  
  
"Oh," She said shortly, blinking. "It's you."  
  
"Yeah..." Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Can I come in?"  
  
"Oh, yeah," Harmony stepped aside, as if coming out of a daze. "Come on in."  
  
"Thanks Har-I mean Brooke," The girls laughed.  
  
"You don't know how good it feels to hear someone try to use my real name," Harmony smiled.  
  
"I can imagine," Ginny replied. She sat down on Hermione's bed. "So, how is life here in Hogwarts treating you?"  
  
"Not bad," Harmony shrugged. "I miss Marigold."  
  
"Me too," Ginny smiled. "So, how's everyone in the city? How's Ron doing?"  
  
"Probably swaggering around the castle like he owns the place, the miserable git," Harmony muttered spitefully.  
  
"Well, something's developed that I certainly don't know about," Ginny said lightly, but on closer inspection, she realized her friend's face was sorrowful and angry. "Harmony, what happened?" She asked, quite seriously, sitting down next to the other girl, who refused to look at her.  
  
"I got into a fight with Ron," Harmony finally murmured.  
  
"What?" Ginny repeated disbelievingly.  
  
"You heard me!" Harmony snapped.  
  
"I know but...wow. You and Ron are so perfect-"  
  
"Were, Ginny. Ron and I were so perfect," Harmony corrected bitterly.  
  
"What...what happened?" Ginny inquired nervously.  
  
"I don't know," Harmony replied miserably. "He just...and I...we..." She burst into tears.  
  
"Oh dear," Ginny muttered, giving her friend an awkward hug.   
  
"Sorry," Harmony whispered, pulling away and wiping her tears shamefully.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For-" Harmony was interrupted by a knock on the door. The two girls jumped away.  
  
"Come in," Harmony said, only to see none other than Miranda Himalia and Remus Lupin. She let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"You guys scared me, I thought it was Hermione or something." Harmony laughed.  
  
"What, you and Hermione not getting along?" Mindy asked in concern, shutting the door as she sat down on Parvati's bed.  
  
"No, it's not that, it's just Ginny and I were talking about...er..."  
  
"Marigold?" Remus supplied helpfully, sitting next to his fiancé. "Ron?"  
  
"Yeah, him," Harmony replied in a bitter voice, looking away. Remus and Mindy gave her a funny look.  
  
"They broke up," Ginny explained.  
  
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" Mindy cried, standing and giving Harmony a hug. Harmony was shaking, but no longer crying.  
  
"It's okay, Min, really." Harmony said, pulling away. "I'm fine."  
  
"That's what I said too," Mindy smiled knowingly. Harmony looked down, and gasped.  
  
"Oh my God, where did you get that ring?" She cried, looking up at Mindy, who turned to smile at Remus. Harmony stared. "Are you two...engaged?"  
  
"Didn't I tell you about this?" Ginny asked. "Remus proposed in front of the entire Gryffindor/Ravenclaw Potions class!"  
  
"You didn't!" Harmony exclaimed, looking at Remus.  
  
"I did," He replied, grinning as he took Mindy's hand. Harmony looked at Mindy's happy expression and felt a pang of jealousy go through her. Just a few weeks ago she too had been engaged to be married. To Ron. And now, she had blown it.  
  
No, no, HE had blown it, remember? Harmony said to herself. She couldn't start blaming herself, she would never be able to dig herself out of the guilt if she did and she knew it. She had to keep her anger, at least until she was finished here at Hogwarts. Only thirteen days left, she kept reminding herself. I only have to stay another thirteen days. Then my forty days are up and I can go home.  
  
"Brooke? Brooke....HEY! Harmony! Are you alive in there?"  
  
"Huh?" Harmony shook herself out of her dismal thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine Ginny, thanks."  
  
"You look about as fine as a cat stranded in a lake," Mindy muttered.  
  
"I heard that!" Harmony said, smiling. Mindy rolled her eyes.  
  
"You were supposed to, dumbo!" Just when things were starting to perk up a little, they heard the doorknob turn. Harmony jumped, looking nervous.  
  
"Hey guys, bet you didn't think I could get up here, did you?"   
  
The smug voice belonged to none other than Draco Malfoy. Ginny's jaw dropped.  
  
"Draco?"  
  
"Don't forget me," Another voice said. This time, all the rest of the jaws in the room dropped.  
  
"Crystal?" Harmony and Mindy said at the same time. Crystal Jenkins smiled and shut the door behind herself and Draco.  
  
"That's my name, don't wear it out," She said, dropping onto Hermione's bed as Draco sat on Lavender's. He gestured for Ginny to join him, which she did.  
  
"How did you guys get in here?" Harmony finally managed to splutter. Crystal laughed.  
  
"A little trick Sirius taught me once," She replied, grinning.  
  
"That old trick?" Remus asked disbelievingly. "That still WORKS?"   
  
"Of course, Moony," Crystal replied. Harmony just smiled and shook her head. After being in Crystal's class, she found it strange to see her so...happy. She looked around at the few people in the school that knew her...really knew her as herself. She was so tired of this masquerade. She was Harmony Zalaras Slytherin, damn it, and she wanted the world to know.  
  
No, she didn't. If Harry or Hermione knew, that would be it. To them Slytherin meant Voldemort, and Voldemort meant death. They would...well, actually, she didn't have the slightest idea what they would do. But she was pretty sure it wouldn't be pretty.  
  
"So, how's it going Brooke?" Draco asked, grinning evilly as he said the name.  
  
"Who's idea was that?" Crystal asked, making a face. "I mean, you're named after a body of water!"  
  
"Sirius," Harmony replied, shrugging.  
  
"Really? Go figure," Crystal rolled her eyes. "I thought it would've been Ron." At the sound of his name, Harmony sighed, and Ginny rolled her eyes.  
  
"Oh honestly, how many time do we have to go through this today!" She exclaimed. "Harmony and Ron broke up! There, does everybody have it now?"  
  
"No!" Crystal gasped. Harmony just bowed her head. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was bringing up a sensitive subject."  
  
"It's okay," Harmony mumbled.  
  
"No it's not," The professor replied firmly. "What you need is a good cup of tea." Crystal pulled out her wand and muttered a spell, and in a few moment a table appeared in the middle of the dorm with a teapot, sugar, lemon, spoons, napkins, crumpets, cookies, cups and saucers. Mindy raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Tea, Crystal?" She asked.  
  
"Yes of course," The other replied briskly. She turned to Remus and asked politely, "One lump of sugar, or two?"  
  
"One," Remus replied, his mouth twitching. "And some lemon, if you please."  
  
"Certainly," Crystal replied, either oblivious to or choosing to ignore the sarcasm in his voice. She continued around the circle, and soon everyone had a cup of tea (except for Draco, who turned it down for coffee) and they had all had their chance to laugh at Crystal. Harmony took a sip smiling, and found that she did feel better, though it was probably the people around her as opposed to the beverage.  
  
"Thank you, Crystal, I believe the tea does help," Harmony said. Crystal laughed, and buttered herself a crumpet.  
  
"I think so," She said. "There is really no need to worry yourself about Ron, dear."  
  
"Yeah," Ginny nodded in agreement. "Ron's always overreacting and getting dramatic. He's probably regretting it now."  
  
"He'll be sorry all right," Draco replied. "Don't worry, Harmony, Weasley'll get what he deserves."  
  
At these words, the door flew open, and Hermione burst into the dorm. She stopped short. Her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was sitting on her bed, nibbling on a crumpet. On Parvati's bed sat Draco Malfoy and Ginny, holding hands with teacups at their feet. Likewise, Mindy and Remus were sitting on Lavender's bed. Mindy and Professor Jenkins seemed to be getting along, which was strange in itself. Her gaze finally turned to the final and newest bed, on which Brooke Silinster sat with a cup of tea, a cookie, and a guilty looked.  
  
"Hello, Hermione," Brooke finally stuttered. "Care for a cup of tea?" 


	22. Of Wands, Wishes, and the Marauder's Map

Chapter Twenty-Two  
Of Wands, Wishes, and the Marauder's Map  
  
  
Only one more week, Harmony kept reminding herself. One more week, then I can go home. It was only this thought that kept her awake as Professor Binns droned. Harmony really despised him. Her entire life revolved around the very history of Magic as it was today. Her entire being revolved around the past, the lives of Salazar Slytherin, her ancestor, and Godric Gryffindor, his enemy. She didn't understand how one person--er, ghost that is--could make the subject so incredibly boring!  
  
She sighed, and resigned herself to listening to Binns' droning tones. Her mind wandered back six days, to last Saturday. How they had managed to smooth over the incident, Harmony would never know. Mindy and Crystal did most of the talking. However, no one could hide the fact that Mindy and Crystal were no longer feuding. But hey, if that's all Hermione knew, that was fine by Harmony.  
  
But Hermione was the Heir of Ravenclaw. Harmony highly doubted she hadn't put her quick mind to work on the riddle of bursting in on that particular little party. Harmony only hoped and prayed that Hermione hadn't heard that last comment concerning Ron. That would put all of them in a lot of trouble.  
  
Harmony needn't have worried. Hermione had actually spent the days since wondering what the group had been talking about. It was certainly one of the strangest collections of people she had ever seen. All they needed was Rita Skeeter and Voldemort to make the eclectic group complete.   
  
Hermione smiled at the thought and went back to her notes. Voldemort and Rita Skeeter indeed!  
  
The bell rang, and the seventh year Gryffindors gratefully flew from the History of Magic classroom. Hermione and Harry were holding hands and talking. They met up with Brooke at the door, and the three walked together to dinner, talking excitedly about the coming weekend, a Hogsmeade weekend. Harmony put on a big smile, a happy countenance, and reminded herself over and over that in a week she could go home.  
  
Hermione frowned when Brooke told her that she wasn't going to Hogsmeade. No amount of persuading would change her mind. Hermione sighed.  
  
"Brooke, this may be our last Hogsmeade trip ever. And you've never even seen the village! Aren't you curious?"  
  
"Not really," Brooke replied listlessly, brushing her hair. She set down the brush and turned to face the Head Girl. "Hermione, I know I don't belong here, and you know it too. I'm just trying to finish my short time. I need to stay and study, and think."  
  
"Well, I'm not going to force you to go, but I think you'd enjoy it." Hermione said stubbornly.  
  
"Thanks, but no thanks. You and Harry will have fun," Brooke winked, and Hermione blushed and threw a pillow at her. The girls laughed. Brooke posed the idea of waiting to sleep for Lavender and Parvati, which Hermione vetoed. As she put it, "Merlin knows how much longer they're going to spend in the Astronomy Tower snogging with Seamus and Dean." So the girls pulled their curtains and went to sleep.  
  
Hermione had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach as she stared at the canopy of her bed. She liked Brooke. Brooke was a funny, earnest, studious girl who Hermione sympathized with. She was probably the first girl Hermione had ever truly understood, because they weren't that different. But...  
  
Ron. How long would all her thoughts return to her lost best friend? Ron had been gone for nearly nine months now, and Hermione still hadn't accepted that he was never returning. Then out of nowhere Brooke appeared and began to fill the gap. Hermione should be happy, or grateful, shouldn't she? But no, she only felt guilty. Guilty for allowing anyone to take Ron's place, guilty for putting herself through misery she knew wasn't founded, guilty for putting innocent Brooke into such an awkward position. Hermione fell asleep with these thoughts going through her mind.  
  
Harmony, meanwhile, was also feeling guilty. She had carefully chosen her words so that she wasn't technically lying to Hermione, but it was a bit late for that. Everything Hermione knew about her was a lie. Right now, Harmony's entire life was a lie. And to top it all off-it wasn't hard. It seemed that it should be difficult to spend thirty-three days in a row lying about the most basic aspects of life, but it wasn't. Harmony was actually comfortable lying, it came naturally, and the thought made her cringe. It reminded her of all the aspects of Slytherin she didn't take pride in.  
  
Only one more week, she told herself, and fell into an uneasy sleep.  
  
  
"Oh what a beautiful MO----RNING! Oh what a beautiful DAY! I've got a beautiful FEE---" Harry's horrible singing was abruptly cut off as Hermione clamped a hand over his mouth. Harry tried to continue with the song, but to no avail. Eventually he managed to pry Hermione's hand way.  
  
"'Mione," He whined. "What was that for?"  
  
"Do you even have to ask?" Hermione replied, grinning. Harry rolled his eyes.  
  
"I'm not THAT bad!" He defended.  
  
"Yes you are," She replied, laughing. It was a beautiful day in May, the sun shining through a clear forget-me-not sky, and birds singing in the trees. Harry smiled, unable to even pretend to be angry in such an atmosphere. Hermione just kept laughing, and began to fairly skip as they approached Hogsmeade.  
  
Harry felt somewhat sad at the thought that this was their last Hogsmeade weekend. Ever. In one month, they would be graduating. Although they hadn't talked about it, the thought was in the minds of all the seventh years. Harry and Hermione visited all the shops, as if saying goodbye. They climbed up to the shrieking shack for a short visit, both remembering the night in third year when they had come face-to-face with Sirius Black.  
  
The memories were bittersweet. As usual, the spirit of Ron was everywhere. However, Harry had actually accepted his best friend's death, smiling as he remembered the time he had thrown mud at Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy at this very spot as Ron laughed when they were fighting with Hermione in third year. Although she hadn't been with them at that particular event, at certain places and sounds he saw her smile a certain way that told him she was remembering Ron.  
  
The last place they went to was the Three Broomsticks. The pub was full of all sorts of memories, not only of Ron. Hermione sat down with her butterbeer and let her eyes roam freely around the place. Harry sat down next to her, and for a moment, there was only silence between them as their minds sifted through memories, and the realization that they would be leaving the place they had called home for the last seven years.  
  
"Hey...mind if we join you?" The voice that interrupted their thoughts belonged to Lavender Brown. Parvati, Dean, Seamus and Neville were with her.  
  
"Of course not," Hermione nodded, smiling. The others collected chairs and seated themselves at the table. Normally they would've all been out their separate ways. But now, this weekend, they were all together. All of the seventh year Gryffindors sat in silence, thinking.   
  
But the silence didn't last long. It was Neville who asked a question about the upcoming Transfiguration essay, and somehow, it turned into a conversation. Hermione, for the first time, was realizing how little she knew about her fellow dorm mates, and she found herself wishing she had spent a bit more time with them. Time was almost up now.  
  
"I'll be right back," Harry said suddenly, rising from the table and crossing the space between the table and the door quickly. A small bell tinkled as he left the pub. Seamus gave the door a funny look.  
  
"What was that all about?" He asked.  
  
"Probably Ron," Dean said, and their was a general nod of agreement. A moment of awkward silence followed before Parvati commented on Harry's latest victory and the upcoming Quidditch Cup.  
  
Harry's abrupt exit actually had nothing whatsoever to do with Ron. However, he knew his classmates would probably think it did, and therefore wouldn't follow him, which was exactly what he wanted. He pushed through the crowded streets until he reached a tiny store he had never entered before called Sweeney & Sweeney's Fine Jewelry. Taking a deep breath, he went inside.  
  
Meanwhile, Harmony found herself back in the library. At first she was just wandering around, but she inevitably found herself at an entire shelf of books full of biographies of Salazar Slytherin.  
  
Sighing, she pulled one of them down and began to flip through it. Eventually, she found herself completely absorbed. She knew of Salazar's life, of course, seeing as she had done nothing but study it since she was born. However, all of these biographies were of his life before Marigold, and most of them about his time as a Dark Wizard. It didn't take Harmony long to find a passage about Salazar's heir.  
  
  
"However, Slytherin knew that if his search for an Immortality Spell failed, his legacy would die. Therefore, according to legend, he created an heir. This heir would come to Hogwarts and purge the school of those 'unworthy' to study the magical arts, those being Muggle borns and half bloods. His heir was to gain control of the magical community and raise purebloods to their deserved higher status.  
Of course, he tried to complete this in complete secrecy. However, his activities were discovered. Supposedly the other founders discovered his activities after his banishment from the school, and they created their own heirs. The problem was, the only place the new heirs could hope to defeat the Heir of Slytherin was the school itself, where Gryffindor cursed Slytherin on his [Gryffindor's] deathbed. When the heirs were ready for battle, they could summon Slytherin's Heir to Hogwarts so the battle could commence. This story is, of course, entirely fictional..."  
  
  
Harmony blinked several times. She had read and read and read in her studies of Salazar Slytherin, but never had she found this information. Was this true? The final battle had to take place on the grounds of Hogwarts? And the other three heirs could summon Voldemort? If they could, then so could she!  
  
Hermione and Harry talked to her about Hogsmeade all through dinner, but Harmony wasn't listening. Her mind was working furiously, planning for the battle. It would not be long now.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Her time at Hogwarts was coming to a close. Harmony could hardly believe it. Tomorrow, she would be returning to Marigold. She would be returning to her father, she would be returning to Sirius...she would be returning to Ron.  
  
She hadn't seen him for forty days, and in that time she had come to realize how stupid they had both been. She wanted nothing more than his forgiveness. And a kiss wouldn't hurt either.  
  
However, at the moment Harmony had her mind fully bent on staying awake. She was sitting in Divination, and the toxic smell of the perfume was suffocating her. Why had she taken this class again?  
  
Harry was nodding off next to her, and Neville was snoring. Only Lavender and Parvati seemed interested, but then again, they fancied themselves Divinators. Harmony watched them interestedly, having a few humorous thoughts at their expense when...  
  
Parvati began to shudder violently. Harry started and Neville was jolted awake. Trelawny watched with her eyes open wide in shock and horror. After a moment, Parvati began to speak in a low, menacing voice.  
  
"The Heirs of Slytherin shall battle, and blood shall be spilled for both. One who was thought dead shall return, and the final battle for Hogwarts shall take place. Two shall switch, and the truth will remain hidden. The bonds of the centaurs shall return. The Great Evil will come to the school tonight." Parvati's eyes were rolled into the back of her head, and only the whites showed. Lavender was screaming and crying at her friend's side. With a final shudder, Parvati's eyes closed. Then, she opened them and gave a great yawn.  
  
"Oh dear, I think I fell asleep. Did Professor Trelawny say anything important, Lav?" She asked, looking up at her horrified friend. "Lav? Lavender? Hello!"  
  
"You...you...you just said the Great Evil was coming to Hogwarts!" Lavender cried, practically hysterical. Parvati gave her a funny look.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Parvati demanded. Whispers were flying across the room. Harmony just stared at Parvati Patil in a new light.  
  
Parvati had just had a real vision. She had seen the future. The words flew through her mind. The Heirs of Slytherin shall battle, one who was thought dead shall return...the Great Evil will come...  
  
Everything started to come together in Harmony's mind. The battle was supposed to be tonight, Ron was supposed to come back to Hogwarts...and summon Voldemort!!   
  
The bell rang, and the majority of the class remained to gape at Parvati. Harmony, however, flew from the room to the owlery, composing a letter to Ron and Sirius in her mind as she went. Her fight with Ron didn't matter now, this was bigger than any little feud. She told them to meet her by the greenhouses at eleven o'clock. She didn't explain, only said it was urgent.  
  
After the letter was written and on it's way, Harmony returned the common room and collapsed. She was nearly shaking with...she wasn't sure what. A strange mixture of fear, anticipation, and nervousness. She had prepared for this battle her entire life, and now, suddenly...here it was.  
  
She found herself drifting to sleep.  
  
Meanwhile, everyone else was coming back from dinner, buzzing with the news of Parvati Patil's vision. They were oblivious to Brooke Silinster, let alone all the emotions whirring through her.  
  
They were also oblivious to the same emotions going through the veins of Harry Potter, but for entirely different reasons.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Harmony had been pulled into a dream.   
  
  
She was watching a happy young couple laughing and talking as the woman pushed a stroller down the street of a small village's main street. Harmony immediately recognized the couple, though she wasn't sure how, since she had never seen them. Maybe it was the descriptions Sirius had provided: A tall, lean man with black hair and brown eyes paired with a petite, delicate looking woman with fiery tresses and bright emerald eyes left very little doubt that Harmony was seeing Lily and James Potter, Harry's parents. Not to mention the child in the stroller had his father's messy hair and his mother's eyes. The only things he was missing were the scar and glasses.  
  
Harmony's dream-Lily gasped as a woman came out of the shop in front of the young family, also pushing a stroller. The woman was short, with bushy brown hair and bright, friendly blue eyes. The woman squealed.  
  
"Lily!" She cried.  
  
"Natalie?" Lily said in disbelief. The two women hugged.  
  
"I haven't see you in ages!" The woman Lily had called Natalie exclaimed. "Hardly at all since you went off to private school."  
  
"I know!" Lily replied, squealing. "This is the last place I expected to run into Natalie Banks."  
  
"Granger," Natalie corrected shyly flashing a smile and a diamond ring.  
  
"Oh my God, you got married!" Lily squealed.   
  
"Yes. This is my daughter, Hermione," The infant in the stroller giggled. "What about you?"  
  
"Potter," Lily grinned. "This is my husband, James. James, this is Natalie. She was my neighbor. And baby Harry, of course,"  
  
"How do you do?" James asked politely. Harmony had been following the conversation with interest, but suddenly her vision was drawn against her will to the children. She looked down just in time to see their hands touch. Unless her sight was failing her, she swore she saw a flicker jump from Hermione to Harry.  
  
"Well, we must be going. Take care, Natalie!" Lily exclaimed. Harmony looked up, then realized the Potters and the Grangers were going their separate ways. She followed the Potters, wondering what all that had meant.  
  
She soon found herself in a park. They hadn't gone very far when Harmony spotted a family that would've been hard to miss. The mother was short and plump, the father was tall and thin. Two boys, looking to be around eight or nine years old, were giggling and whispering as they walked along. Another boy, looking closer to five, stuck his nose in the air at the antics of his older brothers. Toddling identical twins each held on to one of their father's hands, grinning mischievously as they took turns poking at their older brothers' backs. Their mother was pushing a stroller, which held the youngest brother. All eight had flaming red hair Harmony immediately recognized.  
  
"Arthur!" James exclaimed, grinning at the father. "It's been a long time. My they're growing up fast."  
  
"Aren't they though?" Arthur smiled proudly, looking down at his brood fondly.  
  
"Molly!" Lily squealed hugging the mother.  
  
"Hello, Lily dear," Molly smiled. "How's little Harry doing?"  
  
"Oh, splendidly," Lily replied. "And this little guy? I don't think I've met the newest member of the family."  
  
"This is Ron," Molly said, smiling fondly at her youngest son. Harmony continued to listen with interest, knowing that if she and Ron were still engaged this would be her future family. 'Weird,' she thought, 'I'm having a dream that has my...whatever he is right now as a baby.'  
  
Just then, her attention was, once again, forcibly drawn to the strollers. Baby Harry reached out, and his hand met that of Baby Ron. And once again, Harmony frowned (if one can perform such a feat in a dream) as a flicker passed from Ron to Harry.  
  
Suddenly, the vision of the two families in the park disappeared, and Harmony found herself in her very own beloved palace. Except that neither her father nor Sirius nor...anyone else of her acquaintance was there. There was an empty cauldron, and hovering over it was none other than Salazar Slytherin.  
  
"I must help them," He mumbled. "If they will not let me, then I will do it myself. I will create a second heir."  
  
Salazar disappeared, and Harmony found herself in a kitchen. Lily and James Potter were seated at the table, with Harry lying down asleep nearby.  
  
"I'm worried, James," Lily said, looking around in fear.  
  
"Don't worry," James replied, taking his wife's hand. "With the Secret-Keeper Charm in place, he can't find us."  
  
"I know but-" Lily cut off suddenly. "Did you hear that?"  
  
"Hear what?" James replied. Listening, he heard a scratching at the door. "Oh, that? Lily, it's just the wind." Just as the words left his mouth, they heard it again, louder. Lily tightened, her eyes widened. She stared in horror as the doorknob began to turn.  
  
"Take Harry...run!" James said, but it was too late. Voldemort came bursting in. He swept the Potters away with a sweep of his hand and approached their son. Lily and James watched in horror as he lifted his wand and...  
  
The killing curse mirrored of Harry.  
  
Harmony stood in shock as Harry Potter, in her dream, became the Boy Who Lived...with his parents living as well.  
  
Once again, she saw Salazar over the cauldron, muttering as he added various ingredients to the potion. Nothing could go wrong. He wouldn't allow it too. He opened a new vial and began to measure its contents.  
  
Rapid, colorful visions began to pass through Harmony's mind. She saw James teaching Harry to ride his first broomstick, Harry baking cookies with Lily, Sirius bestowing Harry with the Marauder's Map, Ron coming to spend the night with the Potters.  
  
It was all beginning to make sense. She was seeing the world as it would've been. She was seeing the world's destiny, if Salazar Slytherin had not created a second heir. She was seeing that they didn't need her. She was seeing the world, not as if she hadn't been born, but as if she wasn't the Second Heir of Slytherin.  
  
If she had been awake, she would've cried. But she could do nothing but watch as glimpses of Sirius and Crystal's wedding flew by, and Harry's acceptance letter to Hogwarts induced a wild party, and Harry returned home to the loving arms of his parents for the holidays.  
  
And in between these visions, she saw Salazar hard at work, inadvertently killing all hope for the happy life Harry Potter should've had.  
  
Then, Harmony saw a picture. It was a still shot, as if from a Muggle camera, and framed. It showed Sirius and Crystal in the background making faces, then Lily and James looking very proud. And it was easy to see why. Just in front of these four were four more people, in the robes given to Hogwarts students on the day of their graduation. Harry was on the far left, grinning like crazy with a loving arm around the waist of Hermione, who stood next to him. She had a friendly arm around Ron's shoulders, and he was giving her bunny ears from behind. And he was holding hands with...Harmony couldn't believe her own eyes.  
  
Ron was holding hands with HER, Harmony, pointy ears, ankle length hair, graduation robe and all. And she herself looked deliriously happy. If she hadn't been the heir, if Salazar hadn't created her destiny...she would've come to Hogwarts anyway, and met Ron there. Harmony looked down at the picture, and knew she was looking at her heart's deepest desire.  
  
The photograph shattered, and she saw Salazar Slytherin smile as he added the final ingredient. His second heir was now securely in place, and nothing could go wrong...  
  
  
The horror of this turn of the dream awoke Harmony, and to her surprise she found that tears were running down her cheeks. She found herself cursing Salazar through her tears, and shaking with the true realization of what the dream had meant.  
  
After a few minutes, she managed to pull it together. If she didn't hurry, she would miss her appointment with Sirius and Ron.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Harry was standing outside the Library. He wasn't sure when this became their meeting place, but it had started at the beginning of sixth year, and just hadn't left.  
  
He was waiting for Hermione with the invisibility cloak in one hand and the Marauder's map in the other. Being Head Boy, he couldn't get in trouble for being outside the Library after hours...at least, he hoped not. Hermione would be joining him in a few moments, as he had invited her to go on a walk.  
  
Harry was pacing back and forth nervously, constantly running his hand through his messy black hair. This was more than a walk, this was...this was... He put his hand in his pocket and grabbed the little black box. He was proposing for Heaven's sake!  
  
"Harry?" Hermione's voice interrupted his thoughts. He jumped, quickly taking his hand out of his pocket.  
  
"Hey," He said, giving her a quick kiss. Hermione laughed.  
  
"Come fully prepared, haven't we, Mr. Potter?" Hermione teased, gesturing to the cloak and map. "You know, we don't have to hide under the cloak. We ARE Head Boy and Girl."  
  
"I know, but this is so much more fun!" Harry replied, grinning devilishly. Hermione laughed as Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at the map, muttering.  
  
"Well, are we in trouble?" Hermione asked jokingly. "Is Filch roaming about? Snape?"  
  
"No, all's good." Harry replied, playing along. "Let's-" Harry cut off, staring in shock at the map. He dropped the cloak and wand.  
  
"What?" Hermione asked urgently, coming up behind so she could see the map. With a shaking finger, Harry pointed at a small dot that was currently leaving the Gryffindor common room.  
  
The dot was labeled Harmony Slytherin.  
  
"What the hell?" Hermione muttered, staring as the dot rapidly approached the stairs. Then, she shook herself into logical thinking. "What should we do?" She asked Harry.  
  
"Dumbledore," Harry replied. Without another word, they sprinted toward Dumbledore's office. They reached the gargoyle and were about to give it the password when Dumbledore himself came out.  
  
"What's going on?" He asked as the Head Boy and Girl came running up to him. Panting, Harry handed the Headmaster the Map. Dumbledore didn't even question where they got it.  
  
"You see sir," Harry panted. "Harmony Slytherin."  
  
"Oh?" Dumbledore replied. "I thought you were referring to the dots labeled Sirius Black and Ronald Weasley."  
  
"WHAT?!" Hermione and Harry exclaimed in unison, staring at the map. There he was, their best friend, the one who had been dead for over nine months. He was standing on the grounds of Hogwarts as they spoke, with Harry's godfather, whom they had also thought dead, and a mysterious Slytherin was quickly approaching them.  
  
Without words, all three began to sprint. Dumbledore had no trouble keeping up with the two younger people. Harry could feel the blood pounding in his ears. Every once in a while he would glance at the map. "Harmony Slytherin" was outside now, standing with Sirius and Ron. Ron. Harry's throat constricted. Here he was, standing on the front lawn, and probably getting killed even as they ran.  
  
Suddenly, Harry ran into something solid with a 'smack'. He stood and shook himself, just in time to see Hermione and Dumbledore seem to run headlong into a brick wall. There was just the slight problem that they had been running through an empty corridor. Hermione put her hand up, and found that she was feeling what seemed to be an invisible wall.   
  
"PEEVES!" She screamed. Dumbledore jumped up to try various counterspells (while Peeves was really just mischievous, poltergeist's magic is extremely powerful, and somewhat different than living magic).  
  
And Harry was increasingly aware of the passing of precious seconds.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Harmony's hopes of reconciling with Ron died the moment she saw his face. It was obvious to her that he didn't have any intentions of forgiving her.   
  
"Harmony," He said coldly, nodding. Harmony put on her game face.  
  
"Ron," She replied in a voice just as icy, also nodding. Sirius rolled his eyes.  
  
"Look, we don't have time for this. What's going on?"   
  
"Parvati Patil had a visions-" Ron interrupted her with a snort.  
  
"She wishes."  
  
"Ron, shut up!" Harmony cried. "Look, I know Parvati only wishes, but she had a real vision, shuddering, eyes rolled back, deep freaky voice and complete amnesia. She said you would return tonight, and the battle would occur."  
  
"Okay..." Sirius said, obviously a bit confused, Harmony stamped her foot.  
  
"Look, we have to summon Voldemort."  
  
"How, exactly, do you propose to do that?" Ron drawled. Harmony shot him a look.  
  
"Just follow my lead." She grabbed their hands. Ron raised an eyebrow, but he didn't say anything, especially after she began to chant.  
  
"Evil of Slytherin, come to me. Evil of Slytherin, come to me. Evil of Slytherin..."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Meanwhile, Dumbledore had broken through Peeves' wall. After checking the map, Harry ran full force...right into another wall. He began to swear fluently, although he knew it would only take Dumbledore a few seconds now that he had identified the spell, Harry knew every second was precious.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"This isn't working," Ron finally said, breaking away. Harmony gave him a glare.  
  
"Yes it is," She argued.  
  
"No it's not," Sirius agreed. "Face it Harmony, something's gone wrong." He shrugged. Harmony let out a breath.   
  
"You're right," She said, avoiding Ron's look. "You guys go home. I'm coming home tomorrow anyway. Just...I'm sorry I dragged you out here."  
  
"It's okay, Harm," Sirius said. "C'mon Ron," He turned and began to jog toward the forest. Ron, however, lingered for just a moment. He bit his lip, then looked up at her.  
  
"Harmony, I-"  
  
"Ron!" Sirius called from the edge of the forest.  
  
"Go on," Harmony said, nodding after Sirius. "We can't be seen here...you can't be seen here." Ron hesitated for a moment, and Harmony's hopes began to rise again as she looked into his eyes. Then he turned and fled, but her hope was still there. She decided to try one last time, and began to chant. Within syllables, she felt powerful magic flowing through her veins. She didn't realize she was now chanting in her true tongue, that of the snakes.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Harry paused for only a moment as the pleasant May breeze rushed to greet him once they were outside to look at the map. What he saw made him freeze in his tracks, which had a chain reaction of stopping Hermione and Dumbledore.  
  
"What?" Hermione asked between pants.  
  
"Look," Harry said, pointing. There was 'Harmony Slytherin'...but Ron and Sirius were nowhere to be seen. Furthermore, another dot was beginning to form, and letters were appearing beside it. Even as Harry looked, an 'r' was added to make the letters spell Tom R...  
  
"Tom Riddle," Harry breathed. Suddenly, he heard it. The voice, the one he had heard twice in the year, and both times thinking of Ron. It was the same, he knew, the beautiful, melodic, clear voice, but its words were very different.  
  
"Evil of Slytherin, come to me. Evil of Slytherin, com-"  
  
Harry didn't even think. He ran, ran as he never had before, leaving Hermione and Dumbledore in the dust. He rounded the corner of the castle, and stopped short at what he saw.  
  
Brooke Silinster stood, her face tilted upward and her eyes closed, her hands raised to the heavens, chanting in Parseltongue. Meanwhile, a shimmering apparition was becoming more and more defined next to her. Harry immediately recognized the figure as Voldemort.  
  
"BROOKE?!" Hermione cried in shock from behind him. Brooke lost her concentration. Her eyes flew open and her hands dropped. The form of Voldemort flickered, then died.  
  
"I...I..." Brooke stuttered, shaking in fear. "I can explain..."  
  
"I think you should come with me, Miss Slytherin," Dumbledore said softly. The girl's eyes widened in fear.  
  
"No...please..." She looked around desperately, and spotted the forest. She turned to run. Dumbledore pulled out his wand.   
  
"Stupefy!" Brooke tried to run, but she fell under the spell's power, and knew no more.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
When Harmony woke up the next morning with a groan, she discovered that the previous night had not been a dream after all. She was lying on a cot in one of the dungeons. She looked around, fear growing inside of her.  
  
What now? Her identity as a Slytherin was betrayed. She had seen the slip of parchment in Harry's hand, and she had felt like she had been punched in the stomach with the realization of what it was. Sirius had told her all about the Marauder's Map, but it never occurred to her that it could reveal her true identity.  
  
Worse, Harmony realized. They saw Sirius and Ron. They think...they probably think I killed them.  
  
The idea, the very thought of killing either of them, the two people she was closest to in the world, made her violently sick. Fortunately, she managed to pull herself together before Dumbledore walked in.  
  
The sight of the headmaster made her flinch. He was furious. One look told her she wasn't getting any chances.  
  
Worst of all was the thought that she hadn't passed the test. According to the rules she had set with her father, she had to stay exactly forty days beginning with her first class. That meant she had to stay in the school until noon that very day. But no, it was only seven in the morning, and she was about to get expelled.  
  
"Follow me," Dumbledore commanded, his voice brooking no protest. Harmony stood and followed silently, and found that her hands had been magically bound together, and she didn't have her wand. She vowed to herself to answer all his questions honestly, although she knew he wouldn't believe her.  
  
She was lead into the Great Hall. Everyone was there, eating breakfast. The chatter and talk ceased entirely, and Harmony was lead to the front of the silent hall, right past the Gryffindor table. News of what had transpired had spread like wildfire, and some of the students spat as she walked past. Harry and Hermione didn't spit. They just stared, their eyes holding a hatred Harmony would never forget.  
  
She only found comfort in one face. Ginny's eyes were full of sympathy, and she gave Harmony a small smile as she passed. Harmony found it easier to bear, then, knowing at least one person didn't hate her.  
  
She also found friendship at the Head Table. Mindy, Crystal, and Remus followed her every move, trying to be encouraging without actually saying anything. They succeeded. She smiled bravely at them, then turned to face Dumbledore.  
  
"What is your name?" He asked. Harmony swallowed.  
  
"Harmony Zalaras Slytherin, sir," She replied, managing not to break eye contact. Whispers spread through the students, which Dumbledore ended with one swift look.  
  
"Are you responsible for the death of Ronald Weasley?" He demanded. Harmony flinched.  
  
"No."  
  
"But you have captured him, have you not? You have been keeping him in mortal peril, and even brought him back to this school just last night to taunt him?"  
  
Harmony didn't answer, and whispers picked up around the hall again. She had captured Ron and kept him in mortal peril just by being in Marigold. She hadn't given him an option for so long...and by then she had fallen in love. She didn't want him to leave. A conversation came back to her.  
  
~"Do you want to go home?" She had asked, as they looked down at his funeral.  
"Which one?"  
"Marigold."~  
  
"Well?" Dumbledore demanded, cutting through her thoughts. "Do you deny it?"  
  
"No," Harmony whispered, her gaze shifting to Harry and Hermione. "No, I do not deny it."  
  
The noise in the hall increased as all the students and teachers began talking at once. Harmony took in an unsteady breath as she saw Harry's eyes blaze with emerald fire. Dumbledore seemed to become even taller.  
  
"Harmony Slytherin," He said. "I hereby expel you from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and you shall be handed over to the Ministry for questioning." He reached into his pocket and pulled out her wand. Suddenly Harmony remembered something. She and Ron both had wands made of centaur mane. She knew what would happen when that wand was snapped. She braced herself.  
  
Dumbledore held the wand up for everyone to see. They he took one side in each hand, and snapped it. Black smoke billowed out, engulfing Harmony and Dumbledore from vision.  
  
When Harmony opened her eyes she was sitting in Marigold, looking at a shocked and confused Sirius Black, who had just spilled his tea all over the place. He stared in shock.  
  
"What in the-"  
  
"I was caught," Harmony interrupted. "They expelled me."  
  
Meanwhile, the smoke began to dissipate, and the students of Hogwarts could see the two that had been engulfed. They all stared in shock at what they saw. There was Dumbledore, just where he had been, but the Slytherin girl was no longer there.  
  
"This must be a nightmare," Ron said, staring around with wide eyes as the entire population of Hogwarts stared back. He then fell to the ground in a dead faint. 


	23. Of Training, Tears, and Lord Voldemort's...

A/N: Well, guys, it's been a long road, and it's almost over. Do you realize I've been working on this fic for nearly 2 years?? Well, anyway, there's only 2 chapters left. I know I'm excited, and I hope you are. Please remember to review! ^_~ And enjoy!!!  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-Three  
Of Tears, Training, and Lord Voldemort's Smile  
  
  
"So wait...where did Ron go?" Sirius asked, looking at Harmony in mounting confusion.  
  
"Simple," Harmony shrugged. "Don't you remember that Ron and I both have centaur mane wands?"  
  
"Yeah...?" Sirius replied, more confused then ever. When Harmony didn't elaborate he continued in exasperation, "What's that got to do with it?"  
  
"Huh? Oh yeah. Well, back in the middle ages, the powerful (and really rich) wizarding families would all have wands made from centaur manes of the same clan. Not the same centaur, which was rather redundant, but the same family. They did this for a reason. It has something to do with centaur magic, which is a rather peculiar brand, you know. Well, whatever the reason, wands made with centaur mane from the same clan are connected. If one of them snaps, the owner of that wand and the owner of a wand with the same clan of centaur simply...switch places."  
  
"So you're telling me," Sirius said, looking at Harmony in mounting amazement. "That Ron is at Hogwarts right now?"  
  
"Basically," Harmony shrugged. Sirius looked at her in disbelief.  
  
"There's still something I don't understand."  
  
"What?" She asked, getting annoyed.  
  
"Why was your wand snapped in the first place?"  
  
"I was caught last night," Harmony sighed. "Summoning Voldemort. It was working too. I'm such an idiot; we had to chant in Snake! I can't believe I didn't figure that out sooner. Well, to make a long story short, I was expelled."  
  
"How did they find out you weren't Brooke Silinster?" Sirius asked, still confused. Harmony met his eyes mockingly.  
  
"I have two words for you, Sirius Black: Marauder's Map."  
  
"Oh..." Sirius's eyes widened with understanding. "That's...not cool."  
  
"Yeah," Harmony snapped. "And what's worse, they saw you and Ron."  
  
"Oh dear..." Sirius mumbled, looking guilty. Harmony sighed again.  
  
"I'd better write Ginny so she can explain to Ron what he's doing at Hogwarts..."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Harmony.  
  
It was the first word that entered the thoughts of Ron Weasley upon waking up every day for the last seven months, and this occasion was no different. Her name was burned into his mind, and then the facts that she was at Hogwarts, and he was the biggest jerk on the face of the planet.  
  
Once these thoughts went through the usual process of making Ron incredibly guilty and grouchy, he opened his eyes. Immediately, he realized something was wrong. This was not Marigold. It looked like the palace's sickroom, but one glance told Ron otherwise.  
  
This was the hospital wing. The Hogwarts hospital wing.  
  
He sat up bolt right, realizing that his mysterious return to Hogwarts hadn't been a dream after all. Looking around in wonder, he realized how much he had missed the school.  
  
And there, on the other side of the room, were four people in a tight circle, whispering. He could see the faces of Madame Pomfrey, looking quite confused, and Dumbledore, looking only slightly less composed than normal. He could only see the backs of the other two conspirators, but he recognized them immediately.  
  
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.  
  
As if they could hear Ron calling them in his thoughts, Harry and Hermione turned around, and Ron swallowed compulsively. He hadn't realized how much he really missed them until this moment.  
  
Before Ron knew what was happening, Hermione had run to him and pulled him into a bone crushing hug, crying. Ron hugged her back, realizing that he might start to cry in a moment. Hermione. He had missed her so much it almost hurt to know she was here, but even more, he had missed Harry.  
  
Hermione eventually released Ron, wiping away her tears. And for a moment, Harry and Ron just stared at each other.  
  
"Ron," Harry finally managed to choke. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Ron nodded, and when he spoke his voice was raspy from the effort of not crying.  
  
"Yeah. I'm home."  
  
Harry smiled, and gave him a brotherly embrace, which Ron returned. Hermione began crying again, and Madame Pomfrey began to claim there was "something in my eye" as Dumbledore smiled, approaching them.  
  
"Mr. Weasley," He said. "It's good to have you back."  
  
"Thank you, Headmaster," Ron replied. He was now beginning to get over the general shock of being back at school; his mind was going wild with the puzzle of how he got there in the first place. And where the devil was Harmony?  
  
He decided that he probably shouldn't ask outright where Harmony was, mostly because he couldn't remember her code name. (It turned out, of course, to be one of the smartest decisions he ever made.) So, he decided that he would ask for the next best person. "Where's my sister?"  
  
"Ginny?" Harry replied, blinking. "Oh, well...I don't know."  
  
"Um...I really want to see her," Ron replied, deciding it would probably not be wise to tell them Ginny had known where he was since Christmas. "I mean...she IS my sister, you know. And while you're at it," Ron added as an afterthought. "Go ahead and let her bring Malfoy along too."  
  
Hermione ran off to find Ginny. It never occurred to her that Ron hadn't been around to know that Ginny and Malfoy were dating. It didn't occur to Harry either. Only Dumbledore was alert enough to ponder the question.  
  
"Ginny!" Hermione cried, seeing her friend standing just out in the hall, intently studying a sheet of parchment. Ginny didn't look up from the parchment. It was Draco Malfoy, who had been reading over her shoulder, who addressed the Head Girl.  
  
"What is it, Granger?" He asked, not beating around the bush. Hermione glared at him.  
  
"Ron...Ginny, its really him! He asked to see you!" Hermione cried, deciding to ignore Malfoy.  
  
"Uh-huh," Ginny mumbled, her brow furrowing as she continued to pursue what appeared to be a letter.  
  
"Ginny!" Hermione shouted, aghast. "Ron! Hello? Your brother who died! He's ALIVE! He wants to see you! Don't you care?"  
  
"Of course," Ginny snapped, looking up from the parchment, her eyes alight with fire. Tucking the parchment into her robes, she swept past Hermione and toward the Hospital Wing. Malfoy followed.  
  
"Ron!" Ginny cried upon seeing her brother. She threw her arms around his neck and pretended to cry.  
  
"What are you doing?" Ron whispered, hardly able to breathe in his sister's death grasp.   
  
"Just play along," Ginny whispered back. She then continued in a louder voice. "I can't believe you're alive!"  
  
"Yeah," Ron replied, not being able to think of anything else to that particular proclamation. Dumbledore realized the two wanted some time, so he ushered Harry out into the hall. Draco tried to follow Ginny in.  
  
"Where do you think you're going, Malfoy?" Harry asked, stepping in Draco's path.  
  
"Er..." Draco mumbled, trying to think of a plausible answer.  
  
"Mr. Potter, Ron said to let Mr. Malfoy accompany his sister, if you remember," Dumbledore said, nudging Harry aside so Draco could go through. He shut the door behind him.  
  
"Why?" Harry muttered, giving the door an evil look. Dumbledore shrugged.  
  
"There are some questions I cannot answer, Mr. Potter. That is one of them."  
  
Meanwhile, Ron had exploded the minute the door to the Hospital Wing was shut.  
  
"What's going on? Where's Harmony? What am I doing here? How did this happen? Why-"  
  
"You're here, Harmony's at Hogwarts, and this all happened because Harmony was expelled," Ginny interrupted loudly, breaking through her brother's flood of questions. Ron stopped short.  
  
"Expelled? What?"  
  
"Here," Ginny sighed, handing the letter from Harmony to Ron. Draco, who had been interrupted by Hermione, read over his shoulder.  
  
"Oh," Ron said at length, after finishing the letter. "Well...that means I have to pretend I've been captured for the last eight months or whatever?"  
  
"Pretty much, yeah," Ginny replied, sighing. "This isn't good."  
  
"You're telling me," Draco muttered. Ron sighed.  
  
"I am such an asshole," He mumbled, putting his head in his hands. Ginny gave him a funny look.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I had the chance to make it up to her last night," Ron said, meeting his sister's eyes. "And I was just so...Can she ever forgive me?"  
  
"I'm sure she can, Ron," Ginny replied, her heart and eyes brimming with emotion at the look in her brother's eyes. "She loves you, you know."  
  
"I don't know why," Ron muttered. Draco rolled his eyes.  
  
"Don't wonder why, that'll just make you feel terrible," He said. "Just accept the fact. You love Harmony, don't you?"  
  
"Yeah," Ron mumbled, unable to believe his was having this conversation with Draco Malfoy.  
  
"Well then, it'll be fine," Draco said decidedly. Ron just rolled his eyes.  
  
"She had your ring, you know," Ginny said. Ron's gaze snapped to her in disbelief.  
  
"My ring?" He echoed.  
  
"The engagement ring," Ginny explained. "She wore it on a chain around her neck."  
  
"Oh my God, I AM and asshole!" Ron cried in dismay. Ginny raised her eyes to the ceiling in exasperation.  
  
"Harry and Hermione are dying to see you, I'm sure," She said. "Just...tell them the experience is painful and you don't want to talk about it. You have to put it off as long as you can, okay?"  
  
"I get it, Ginny," Ron snapped. Draco rolled his eyes.  
  
"Let's go," He said, gesturing for Ginny to precede him, which she did. She gave Harry and Hermione a brave smile as she passed them, feeling positively rotten as she saw their anxious faces.  
  
Harry and Hermione rushed inside the minute Ginny was gone. "We owled your parents, Ron," Hermione said, smiling. Ron felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. His parents! He had completely forgotten about his family there for a few...days. Okay, weeks. Oh, who was he kidding? He hadn't thought about his family other than Ginny for months! He felt an overwhelming rush of guilt, and struggled to conceal from Harry and Hermione.  
  
"Thanks," He stuttered. "I...I can't believe I'm going to see them again."  
  
"Oh Ron, it's going to be okay. You're home now," Hermione said, giving him a hug as her eyes filled with tears. Ron felt like swine at that moment. He had never felt so guilty in his entire life. That was all about to change.  
  
"Ron?"  
  
His mother's voice was barely above a whisper. Hermione released him and stepped aside. There, in the doorway, were Ron's parents and all his brothers. They were staring unabashedly, their mouths and eyes wide open in disbelief. For a long moment, the only sound was the distant footsteps of students rushing to and fro.  
  
"Oh my God..." The words were his father's, but it was his mother who rushed forward. Before Ron knew what was happening he was in a bone crushing embrace, and his shoulder was soaked with tears.  
  
"My baby," She cried. Ron buried his head in his mother's shoulder. After all that had happened that day, he started to lose it. And having his mother here, and knowing she was crying for HIM, ungrateful pig that he was, pushed him over the edge. He began to sob, not out of relief or happiness, but out of sheer guilt that he had put his family through so much.  
  
  
His family insisted on staying the entire day and most of the next, but eventually they had to get back to their normal lives. Dumbledore and Harry tried to interrogate Ron on his capture. Ron managed to mumble some kind of mumbo-jumbo pertaining to a dark cell and lots of pain, and not really remembering much. However Ron, unlike Harmony, was a terrible liar, and both of them knew his was keeping something from them. They didn't press the subject, feeling Ron probably needed some time to accept what had happened to him.  
  
They were right in that aspect, anyway.  
  
Ron tried to readjust to life at Hogwarts. He went to class, even though Harry and even Hermione urged him not to. He was far behind on classes like Potions and Care of Magical Creatures, but where Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Transfiguration were concerned, he was actually a little bit ahead. It was amazing what a classical royal education in Marigold could do for one's magical abilities.  
  
The teachers, of course, were extremely easy on him. Mindy and Crystal were especially nice, although his fourth day back Mindy made a comment that made obvious exactly what she thought of Ron for breaking up with Harmony, which was that he was the stupidest jerk that ever lived. But he already knew that.  
  
After a week, Ron didn't know if he could take it any longer. Would he have to live the rest of his life pretending like the last eight months...the BEST eight months of his life, had never happened? How could he pretend that Harmony, the woman he loved and adored, had been a confederate of Voldemort's who kept him prisoner for those months?  
  
He was sitting in the Gryffindor common room as these thoughts went through his mind. His gaze was drawn to the window. The sky was gray, and the typical rainy weather of spring was in full force, with rain endlessly falling all around. Ron sighed, and let his eyes fall on the Forbidden Forest. She wasn't terribly far away, but she might as well have been across the ocean. He wondered what she was doing right at that moment...  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Harmony moped around the castle, and was only slightly better company than Ron had been in the previous weeks. Sirius watched her sullen face with alarm, his eyes dark with worry. They needed to make up, or something would happen. He wasn't sure what it would be; only that it would be good.  
  
It had been just over a weeks since Harmony had returned to Marigold, and she hadn't enjoyed a moment of it. Well, it had been good to see her father again, but her mind was at Hogwarts. As always, as she settled down on her window seat and looked down onto the gardens, her mind was with Ron.  
  
The weather suited her mood perfectly. The endless gray drizzle was exactly what she felt like. She wanted to lie down and never sit up again, she wanted to just give up. What was left that was worth fighting for anyway?  
  
She knew the answer to that question of course. She knew, deep down, that as long as their were still children and laughter and sunlight in the world, moonlit meadows and romantic sunsets untainted by hate, innocence in the eyes of the young and all that rot then there was still something worth fighting for. But at that moment, she really didn't care.  
  
Sighing, Harmony pushed herself away from the window and walked out the room, letting her feet carry her where they wished. Before long she found herself where she knew she would, where she always found herself when she was troubled. The Training Room.  
  
In Hogwarts, she would be somewhere in the dungeons, nowhere she had ever seen. However, in this was one of the rooms Harmony was most familiar with in her palace. Ever since she was big enough to hold a sword she had been down in this room, training and preparing for the upcoming battle.  
  
The walls, ceiling and floor were all the same dull gray, except for the black splotches on the walls where powerful curses had hit. The walls were charmed to absorb spells, but the more powerful (namely the Unforgivables) left a black stain.  
  
Harmony removed her long green cloak, folding it neatly and placing in a corner. She then slipped off her dainty silver slippers, placing them on top of her cloak. She had always fought better bare foot, all sprites did. She walked over to the left wall, placed her hand in the center and breathed a soft spell. Opening her eyes, she saw the wall covered with weapons, from swords to arrows to chains. There were also shield and mail, helmets and armor.   
  
Harmony chose her favorites of the selection. She had had her wand replaced her first day back, and she held it firmly in her left hand. With her right, she lifted a long and heavy sword bestowed to her by her father on her eleventh birthday. From the rack of armor she chose a shirt of mail fitted perfectly to her size and the only thing on the whole wall that looked as if it didn't belong there: a dress.   
  
The dress was a deep Slytherin green, the sleeves were long and covered her mail, ending in loops around her middle fingers. It remained as close fitting a dress can over mail, but at the waist it fell in folds and folds of cloth. To most this seemed impractically, but in actually it was not. The dress ended just above her ankles, so she never tripped. Her legs were perfectly free to move, perhaps even more so than with the standard green trousers distributed to her army. And, even more useful, was the fact that if worn with a cloak one would know you were prepared for battle. And, of course, the dress was designed to hold her wand, sword and any other weapon of her choosing invisibly.  
  
Harmony was of the opinion that the entire army should fight in dresses, but of course this did not sit well with Sirius, who had been General of Slytherin's Royal Army since the old general had peacefully passed away two years previously. To the men, he argued reasonably, a dress would have many setbacks. Harmony had to agree with this, since she was been training to fight in a dress such as this since she was two years old.  
  
She quickly changed into her mail and dress, placing the clothes she had been wearing with her cloak and shoes. She picked up her wand in her left hand, and her sword in her right. She narrowed her eyes at the stone walls as if they were threatening her. For a moment she stood perfectly still, composing herself and clearing her mind.  
  
Then she started dueling.  
  
Her wand was spitting spells so furiously that there seemed to be one continual stream of light. Meanwhile her sword swept through the room, parrying and lunging at her unseen foes. Her daintily arched brows furrowed, her soft hands firmly gripping the sword and her pretty red rose lips pursed, her eyes were the only sign of the warrior within. They had turned hard as stone and cold as ice, a frozen wasteland.  
  
She didn't think about Ron. She didn't think about anything. At that moment, nothing mattered except the way the sword moved in her hand, and how fast her wand was moving. Her mind was completely focused on the task at hand. Her feet were steady, moving only when they had to and pivoting effortlessly. Her mind was set on her goal, and nothing else in the world mattered.  
  
She felt her body tiring, but her movements didn't slow. She didn't know whether she had been at it for moments or months, only that she had to keep going. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and the blood flying thought her veins. She could feel the magic in her fingertips as her mouth decreed, in Snake, the curses she was shooting. Her eyes were gleaming, she was breathing heavily, and her movements were still as graceful as ever. Her mind was singing and her heart was on fire. She was in her element in that moment.  
  
"Harmony?"  
  
Harmony spun around in shock, and Sirius ducked as a jet of white light went soaring over his head. She cringed, realizing she had almost hit him dead on with the Cruciatus Curse. He gave the hole in the wall behind him a curious glance, then shut the door and faced Harmony. "Practicing, I take it?"  
  
"Uh...yeah," Harmony replied, going red and suddenly feeling very embarrassed. She felt like he had just walked in on her soul. She had only ever let on person in while she was dueling, and that was...Ron. Go figure, he haunted everything she did!  
  
"You're damn good, Princess," He said, giving her a quirky grin. "If I were Voldemort I'd be running like hell."  
  
"Is that a compliment?" She asked, giving him a funny look.  
  
"It was supposed to be."  
  
"Ah," Harmony nodded, looking down at her sword. Something occurred to her and her head snapped up. "Hey Sirius, you know what?"  
  
"What's that?" He asked.  
  
"It's a lot easier to fight with my hair cut like this!" She said, gesturing to the golden locks that ended at her waist. Sirius looked at her, then at her hair, then back at her. After a moment, he started laughing so hard he had to lean up against the wall. Harmony frowned.  
  
"And what, exactly, is so funny?"  
  
"It's just..." But Sirius was overcome in another fit of laughter. Harmony tried to smile, for she saw the humor in the situation, but she couldn't find anything to be happy about. She knew the Battle was coming, and she knew that she had probably messed up any chance her victory.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Voldemort smiled in the cruel fashion only he could. Peter Pettigrew swallowed compulsively. If his master smiled, it usually wasn't good for him.  
  
However, on this particular occasion Peter wasn't the person who gave the Dark Lord a reason to smile. He had just received news from Lucius. Ron Weasley was back, and they had unmasked the new transfer as his annoying alter-heir distant cousin. This meant, he knew, that there had been a rift between Potter, Granger, Weasley and their new found enemy: Harmony Slytherin. Now was the time to attack.  
  
Voldemort assembled his armies and prepared for the Final Battle, the one that would decided the outcome of the world as it was, and the world as he would make it. He set the day of his attack for the 17th of May.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It had been three weeks since Ron's return to Hogwarts, and he was finally starting to accept the fact that he was no longer in Marigold with Harmony and Sirius, but at school with Harry and Hermione. He was also getting used to school life again, a considerable feat.  
  
It was a beautiful May morning, the sun was shining brightly and the birds were out singing. However, the majority of the students were inside studying for exams. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were not among them.  
  
It was the first time in his life Ron could remember Hermione not insisting they stay inside and study, and he was amazed at both of them, especially since NEWTs were right around the corner. He was starting to get uncomfortable with all the special treatment, but he wasn't going to say no to a walk around the lake. It had been days since the weather was as nice as this.  
  
For nearly an hour Ron managed to climb out of his shell and just have fun with his friends. However, his eyes kept wandering to the Forest and he would gaze longingly at the life he left behind and his feet were yearning to run through the now well-known paths to Marigold. He sighed, which caused Hermione to interrupt his thoughts.  
  
"Ron?" She asked tentatively.  
  
"Hmm?" He said, turning his gaze from the forest. Harry and Hermione were looking at him in concern, and it occurred to him how different he was to them now.  
  
"Ron, you can tell us anything," She said, stepping forward and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We won't tell anyone. Not even Dumbledore if you don't want us to. I hope you know that."  
  
"Of course I do, Hermione, it's just that..." He sighed. He had a carefully planned a well rehearsed tale of his "capture" planned, but he didn't really want to lie unless he had to. However, in this situation... "Okay, Herm. Here's what happened-"  
  
Ron never did have to tell that false story.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione interrupted in hear, grabbing onto Harry's arm. He looked over at her in alarm, caught off guard since he had been listening to Ron intently. He followed her gaze to a large black snake crawling through the grass toward them.  
  
"It's okay," He said calmly, then turned the snake. "Turn around, buddy. There's nothing here for you."  
  
Ron gave Harry a funny look, wondering if he was just trying to confuse the thing by speaking to it. Then he realized Harry was talking in Parseltongue. He hadn't realized he would be able to understand Harry speaking with snakes. Well, that made life interesting, didn't it?  
  
However, the snake didn't turn away at Harry's words. "Go on now, go home where you belong!" The snake didn't deter from its course, straight past Harry and on to Ron. It was then that Ron realized two things: 1) the snake was injured and 2) the snake was speaking.  
  
"Mr. Weasley," It panted. "Mr....Weasley!"  
  
"Richard?" Ron whispered, finally recognizing the snake as the animagus form of Sir Richard of the Royal Court of Marigold, and the one who was supposed to go and inform Harmony if an emergency should arise while she was at Hogwarts. What on earth was he doing here?  
  
He didn't notice the wide-eyed shock of Harry and Hermione, mainly because he didn't realize he had spoken in Snake.  
  
"Richard!" He cried again, kneeling and placing a hand on the snake's head. Immediately it took on the form a human man with a grisly injury in his right arm. Hermione let out a strangled gasp from behind him.  
  
"Mr. Weasley," Richard panted. "Thank God!"  
  
"What happened to you?" Ron demanded whipping out his wand and trying to tend to the wounds. Richard wouldn't hear of it.  
  
"A scratch, a scratch," He insisted.  
  
"This," Ron argued, gesturing to the bleeding gash, "Is no scratch."  
  
"Listen to me!" Richard interrupted, annoyed. "The city...the city is under attack!"  
  
"WHAT?!" Ron cried, leaping up and staring down at Richard in shock. Marigold was under attack? Voldemort must have...and they were coming to Hogwarts and... HARMONY!  
  
Without a second thought Ron turned and sprinted full force toward the forest. Harry and Hermione looked after him for less than a second before the man Ron had called Richard spoke to them.  
  
"Go with him," He begged, his voice hardly a whisper. "Go...they need you."  
  
"Who-" Harry began.  
  
"GO!" The man cried, and Harry and Hermione didn't try to argue with him again. Ron was already nearly in the forest, and they knew they couldn't lose track of him.  
  
He was running with all the speed he could (which was a considerable amount) and Harry and Hermione had to work to keep up with him. More amazing was the way he seemed to know where he was going. The gnarled trees and twisted limbs were enough to make anyone dizzy, but Ron never slowed in his path.  
  
Harry was getting lost, confused, and slightly annoyed. What in the hell was going on? Why had an injured man in the form of a Snake come up to Ron and tell him a city was under attack? And then tell Harry to follow? And where in God's name did Ron learn Parseltongue?!  
  
Ron stopped abruptly, bringing Harry and Hermione to a halt behind him. He didn't notice them he was staring down into the valley at his feet. Harry followed his gaze, and suddenly felt as if someone had punched all the air out of him.  
  
He could tell the city had once been beautiful. It was the likes of which Harry had never seen before, small yet with the flair of a capitol of the world, with marvelous buildings, quaint homes, and a powerful castle. It was now being overrun by Death Eaters dressed in black, and helpless, innocent people with long ears and long hair were running everywhere, screaming. Half the city already lay in ruins. Beside him he could feel Ron tense up and breathe heavily.  
  
Then, before Harry or Hermione could react, Ron plunged into the fray, running down the slope into the city, and Harry and Hermione had no choice but to follow. 


	24. Of Death, Daggers, and Heirs

A/N: Well guys, this is the second to last chapter. I just thank you all for staying with me. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. The battle at last!!!!   
  
Oh, and by the way, I apologize in advance for the end of this chapter...*hides*  
Chapter Twenty-four  
Of Death, Daggers, and the Heirs  
Ron never knew Harry and Hermione had followed him through the woods. His mind had been set on one thing: Harmony. He had to find her, help her...protect her.  
  
The sight of Marigold, the city he had come to love, being plumaged by Death Eaters had momentarily paralyzed him. Then anger and adrenaline began to pump through him, shattering the trance. His eyes flared with hatred. He pulled out his wand and ran into the city to save it, unable in his fury to realize how foolish a move it was.  
  
He managed his way through quite nicely, apparently allowing Harmony to teach him the traditional Marigold style of fighting had paid off. He was halfway to the palace when a hand shot out of an alleyway and pulled him out of the battle in the main streets. He turned with his wand poised, and had nearly shouted a rather nasty curse before he realized who it was.  
  
"Sirius," Ron sighed with relief. "Don't scare me like that."  
  
"I had to find you before you did something stupid," Sirius replied curtly. His face was streaked with an ominous mixture of blood and dirt. His wand was nowhere to be seen, but his sword was scarlet with blood. Obviously King Shinra had made a wise decision in making Sirius the General of Slytherin's Army.  
  
"Where's Harmony?" Ron finally blurted out. At that Sirius smiled, and Ron felt strangely childish.  
  
"Off fighting, of course," The General answered. Ron was about to make a sarcastic reply when...  
  
"Ron!" Ron spun around and felt his heart thudding in his chest. Her dress was horribly torn and ripped, a cut across her right cheek was bleeding freely, but it was still Princess Harmony Zalaras Slytherin calling his name.  
  
"Harmony!" He called, but before he could say anymore someone leapt from the shadows and tackled her. She fell with a muffled shriek, her fists flying.  
  
The rage that had been building up in Ronald Weasley finally exploded. His vision went red, and he wasn't entirely aware of what he was doing as he lifted Harmony's attacker by the collar and shoved him into the brick wall on the left side of the alley, his feet dangling several inches from the ground. Ron's snarling face was only centimeters away from the attacker's.  
  
"Ron?" The feeble word escaped the other man's lips. Ron's vision began to clear, and he realized the person had had pinned to that wall had familiar green eyes behind crooked glasses, untidy black hair and a lightening shaped scar. Ron's eyes widened with realization.  
  
"Harry?" He choked. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I...we followed you and..."  
  
Ron cut Harry's splutters short by releasing him and turning to Harmony, who was lying on the ground watching the exchange with interest. After several moments, Ron gathered his courage. "Need a hand?" He asked in an anxious voice, extending his own.  
  
"I'm fine alone, thank you," Harmony replied, giving him an icy glare and rising gracefully to her feet. She dusted off her ruined dress as if it were one of her best royal gowns and not utterly destroyed by battle and looked beautiful despite the wound on her cheek that added a grisly color to her face. Ron quickly retracted his hand, feeling stupid and like a perfect jerk on top of it.  
  
"Look," He finally began after an antagonizing moment of silence. "I-"  
  
He was cut off by a jet of deathly green they all jumped to avoid. Harmony turned and shot some curse or another back. Whatever the red light was, it worked. The Death Eater responsible fell to the ground.  
  
"Ron, this isn't the time or place," She said, spinning around to face him.  
  
"Exactly," Sirius said quickly as Ron opened his mouth to reply. "There are more important matters at hand."  
  
"Such as telling us what the hell is going on!" Hermione finally burst out. Ron jumped. He had completely forgotten about Harry and hadn't even realized Hermione was there. Sirius turned his gaze to them, his face softening.  
  
"Yes," He replied. "You don't know how long I've waited to see the four of you stand together. I was born to make sure you four would unite, and it's somewhat of a relief that my entire existence hasn't been completely in vain."  
  
"What are you TALKING about?!" Harry cried in frustration. "This girl is Harmony SLYTHERIN! You know, as in Salazar?"  
  
"Yes," Sirius nodded. "I know. I'm the General of Slytherin's Army."  
  
"WHAT?!" Harry's eyes bulged. Ron sighed.  
  
"The most important thing for you to know is Salazar Slytherin had two heirs," Ron explained to Harry in a professional manner. "Voldemort, who was (obviously) the heir of Salazar's evil work, was the human heir. Eventually Salazar repented because he married a wood nymph and created a second heir to help the three of us defeat Voldemort. Harmony is Salazar's second heir." He concluded as if it all made perfect sense and they should've figured it out on their own.  
  
"You're not making any sense," Hermione said, getting somewhat angry. Harmony stood next to Ron, knowing she would have to make a stand for herself.  
  
"I know this is hard to believe, you have every reason to hate me and no reason whatsoever to trust me," She said softly. "But I have been trained since birth to fight and defeat Voldemort, and many of my people have died in your defense, Harry Potter. I want nothing more than to see the Dark Lord fall, then come back to what's left of my city to pick up the pieces. We're on the same side, Harry, Hermione...we always have been."  
  
"And that's why you kidnapped Ron?!" Harry demanded fiercely, gesturing to his best friend. Ron's eyes widened.  
  
"WHAT?!" He cried. "What gave you a ridiculous idea like that?"  
  
"You were captured by Voldemort, and Brooke-Harmony-whatever! She said she was responsible."  
  
"You did what?" He turned to Harmony, feeling more horrible than ever as she looked away. He turned to Harry and Hermione with unfounded anger. "She is not responsible."  
  
"She said-"  
  
"Okay, Harry, you want the truth?" Ron snapped. "Here it is. I was NEVER CAPTURED! I ran away from home, and accidentally stumbled into the Forbidden Forest. I met up with Harmony and Sirius on accident, and I have been in Marigold the WHOLE TIME of MY OWN FREE WILL!! I was never kidnapped, never hidden, never tortured. I stayed because I wanted to."  
  
Silence. The sounds of battle seemed to be cut off from this alley after this speech, all the five of them could hear was Ron's heavy breaths. Harmony turned her head away, her hand over her mouth. Harry finally spoke, a look of hurt betrayal in his eyes.  
  
"Ron...you didn't want to come home?"  
  
"No, it wasn't that Harry," Ron let out a gust of air, running a hand through his hair and avoiding Hermione's eyes wet with tears. "I just..." Now Ron's eyes traveled to Harmony. Now was the perfect time to tell her why he stayed: because he was in love with her. It was the perfect time to beg for her forgiveness, explain himself. But somehow, he just couldn't. He was absolutely positive she now hated him, and now, in front of Harry, Hermione and Sirius and right before the battle...he just couldn't handle the rejection. "They were planning for the battle," Ron finally explained. "I was preparing."  
  
Ron was a horrible liar. But at the moment, there wasn't enough time for any of the parties present to pry into his true meaning. Only Sirius knew.  
  
"You mean...Harmony isn't working for Voldemort?"  
  
"NO!" Sirius finally cried. "Look, I know this is really dramatic and you teenagers are relishing in it, but there is a FULL SCALE BATTLE going on as we speak. You four need to get to Hogwarts before Voldemort does. Harry, Hermione, your just going to have to trust me and Ron that Harmony is on our side."  
  
"Ron and me," Hermione immediately corrected.  
  
"WHATEVER!" Sirius yelled, almost losing it completely. "The point is she's not going to kill you. Harry, please. Without her, you cannot defeat him!"  
  
Harry looked at Hermione, who made it clear just in her eyes that she would follow his lead. Sirius was looking furious and Ron anxious. Lastly his eyes fell on Her: Harmony Slytherin. She was right; he had absolutely no reason to trust her. But somehow...her eyes were a clear blue, and he felt like he could see everything about her. He saw in her eyes an intense hatred...for Voldemort. He never knew, in years to come, why he trusted her at that moment, the most important of his life. Maybe it was destiny.  
  
He nodded.   
  
"C'mon," Hermione said, giving Harmony a shaky...well, something that distantly resembled a smile. "We need to get to Hogwarts."  
  
Without further conversation the four of them turned and fled. Sirius watched them, pride filling his heart. Harry and Hermione led the way with Ron just behind them, all three in uniform. Then there was Harmony, conspicuously different in the long green fabric, yet the determination in her stride and the glow surrounding her matched that of the other three.  
  
Sirius returned to the battle, knowing he had to hold them up long enough for the Heirs to reach Dumbledore and prepare the castle.  
  
In next to no time, it seemed, the four of them were nearing the castle. Halfway up the lawns, Hermione suddenly cried, "STOP!" In shock more than anything else the other three halted in their tracks. "What are we going to do, exactly?" She asked, pointing out a problem none of them had stopped to consider.  
  
"Everyone will be at lunch," Harry remarked.  
  
"We can't just going barging in!" Hermione cried, her pitch alarmingly high.  
  
"The time for discretion has passed, Herm," Ron said, taking the lead. The other three gasped. "What?" He asked, annoyed.  
  
"Your...your robes..." Hermione pointed a shaky finger at Ron. He looked down and for the first time realized he was no longer wearing the uniform. He was wearing long robes of ebony and rich yellow. Ron hadn't noticed them because, despite their elaborate look, they were very light.  
  
"What happened?" Ron demanded, somewhat alarmed.  
  
"Your amulet," Harmony said, gesturing to the ebony badger glowing at Ron's chest, the golden eye alive with a mysterious shimmer that reached the chain around his neck holding the amulet in place. "It activated when you stepped onto the grounds. You are now in your official Hufflepuff battle ensemble."  
  
"Why didn't you change?" He snapped. Harmony looked down at her deep green robes and glowing emerald snake pointedly.  
  
"I was already in full Slytherin regalia," She commented. Something suddenly occurred to her and her eyes flew open. She turned to Harry and Hermione. "Where are your amulets?"  
  
"Amulets?" Harry asked, but Hermione caught on immediately.  
  
"Upstairs, in the tower. We didn't know we'd be using them. Do we need them for the battle?"  
  
"YES!" Ron and Harmony cried in unison.  
  
"Okay, here's the plan," Harmony said slowly. "Ron and I will warn Dumbledore while you and Harry collect your amulets."  
  
"Are you sure that's wise?" Hermione asked, and immediately looked as if she wished she hadn't. Harmony bit her lip, catching the references in that statement. Hermione was referring to the fact that she didn't exactly trust Harmony, not to mention Harmony's current state of expulsion. She threw her shoulder's back defiantly.  
  
"It the only way," She said bravely. Harry nodded, and with that he and Hermione sprinted into the castle with Harmony and Ron on their heels.  
  
"Mr. Potter! Miss Granger!" Professor Sprout cried irritably as the Head Boy and Girl ran past her, causing her to drop her papers all over the floor. She turned around to see two more students running in. "And Miss..." Sprout cut off with a gasp, then pulled out her wand and pointed it at Harmony. "Don't move, Miss. I'm going to get Dumbledore."  
  
Ron's eyes flared. His hand went to his side and to his great satisfaction he found the sword he had always used for practice in the Training Room in Marigold. He pulled the sword out and put the point to Sprout's neck.  
  
"Put the wand down," He said, his voice low. Sprout immediately dropped her wand, her hazel eyes wide with fear.  
  
"Ron, stop it!" Harmony cried, trying to make him see reason.  
  
"Mr. Weasley?" A voice spoke in astonishment. Ron's eyes shifted to Albus Dumbledore, who was standing at the door of the Great Hall, his eyes wide, with McGonagall behind him. Slowly, Ron lowered the sword. "What is going on here?" Dumbledore demanded, his gaze leaving Ron and settling on Harmony.  
  
"Voldemort, sir," Ron explained. "The Death Eaters are preparing to attack, the entire army."  
  
"And how does that explain threatening the life of Professor Sprout?" Dumbledore replied, as if he didn't believe Ron, who felt anger rising within him.  
  
"Because she was going to shoot a curse of some kind at Harmony!" He cried. "You people don't get it! I was NOT kidnapped, Harmony NEVER tried to kill me. She's on OUR side, and she left hundreds of her people to God knows what horrible end to come here and defend this damned school. She's on our side; she's not the enemy. All of Voldemort's power is marching toward these grounds with the Dark Lord himself at the head, and we need to get out there! And furthermore-"  
  
"Harmony?" The soft voice interrupted Ron's fierce speech. They all turned to see Crystal Jenkins now standing next to McGonagall. She swept past Dumbledore and right to Harmony. "Oh God, what did you do?" She whispered, gently touching the scar on Harmony's cheek.  
  
"A scratch," The Princess replied, wincing.  
  
"Professor Jenkins!" Dumbledore said sharply, his fiery blue eyes turning on his professor angrily. "What is the meaning of this?" Crystal straightened and turned to face the Headmaster, her hand on Harmony's shoulder.  
  
"Professor," She said, "Mr. Weasley is telling the truth. Harmony Slytherin is on our side of things, I've been in contact with her for years. You have to believe us."  
  
"Crystal, you have to get Mindy and Remus," Harmony said quickly, talking for the first time. "I'll need all three of you."  
  
"What's going on?" Crystal asked, her brown eyes anxious.  
  
"Just like Ron said. Full scale battle. The Death Eaters are destroying the city as we speak."  
  
"Sirius?" She managed to squeak. Harmony smiled reassuringly...or at least tried to.  
  
"He's fine. He'll be here shortly. Mindy and Remus, quickly!" Crystal nodded, and ran off in pursuit of them.   
  
At that moment, Harry and Hermione came sprinting down the stairs. They looked magnificent. Harry's scarlet robes stood out like fire, the gold adding a touch of dignity. Hermione looked like the seat of wisdom, yet at the same time intimidating in bright sapphire and hints of subtle bronze. Their amulets were glowing like fire as they ran down to join the other two Heirs.  
  
"Headmaster, Voldemort is attacking," Harry said, placing himself next to Ron.  
  
"So I've heard," Dumbledore replied, trying to hid his surprise. The four of them, standing in the full glory of their houses, the one named Harmony looked just as proud and determined as the others.  
  
"I believe you know Sirius, Headmaster," She whispered. "He's leading an army of reinforcements here as we speak. I've been protecting him."  
  
"It's true," Hermione nodded, suddenly realizing the signifigence of Sirius's presence. Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a sound eerily familiar to Harry's ears.  
  
As if to cast away any doubts Dumbledore, Harry, or Hermione harbored, Fawkes came flying into the Entrance Hall. He swooped downward, landing neatly on Harmony's outstretched arm and singing. Dumbledore nodded, then turned to McGonagall.  
  
"Come, Minerva, we've got a lot of work to do in not a lot of time. We need all the students in the Great Hall right now and-"  
  
"Ron! Harmony!" Harry and Hermione watched in shock as the speaker, Draco Malfoy, came running toward them. He stopped short, his eyes widening at the sight of Harmony. "Jesus Christ, Gem! What did you do now?!"  
  
"Siege on the city, attack by Voldemort, full scale Death Eater battle, war I've been training for my entire life...you know, the usual." She snapped sarcastically. Draco's eyes widened and he swore loudly.  
  
"We'd better get moving," He commented, starting to take off.  
  
"Draco," Ron said suddenly, grabbing his arm. "I'm counting on you to keep Ginny out of this."  
  
"Of course," Draco replied. Ron released the other's arm and watched as he sprinted toward the Gryffindor Tower with mixed emotions. If he didn't know better, he would think he was actually...trusting Draco Malfoy!  
  
"Let's get a move on," Harry said, and everyone sprang into action. Dumbledore and McGonagall set about rounding up the students and putting all of Hogwart's reinforcements up and ready.  
  
"What do we do now?" Hermione asked, rather awkwardly, after realizing she didn't have a clue what to do.  
  
"There's no use going out there until we have an army backing us up," Harry pointed out logically. Harmony crossed the entrance hall and magically levitated herself up to the long narrow window. She turned her head to talk to the others.  
  
"Voldemort's already here," She said. Ron felt his stomach fall out of his body, his throat constricting like a snake. This would probably be the end of them all.  
  
"Shall we go?" Harry asked, his voice calm but a glare in his eyes that told them how serious he was.  
  
"We're not going anywhere without reinforcements." Hermione said firmly.   
  
"No need to wait," Harmony continued. "Sirius has arrived."  
  
"This is it," Ron said, looking the two people that had been his best friends for the last seven years...before he had met Harmony. Even if they lived to see the end of this battle, could things ever be the same? Could they ever forgive him?  
  
Harmony landed neatly on the floor and marched up to the doors without turning back and reached to open the door. Ron couldn't go out there. Not without say something...anything to Harry and Hermione.  
  
He turned to see the two of them with looks to similar to the one he imagined he had on his own face. He took a step forward, and not really knowing what to do he just blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.  
  
"You two are my best friends, you know that?"  
  
"Yes," Hermione whispered. "Oh Ron!" She cried, throwing her arms around his neck and letting out a muffled sob. If the situation weren't so real Ron would've thought he had been sucked into a melodramatic novel.  
  
"Yes," Harry said as Hermione pulled away. Not really knowing what to do he held out a hand. Ron clasped it warmly, then pulled Harry into a brotherly embrace.  
  
Harmony had turned impatiently, and watched the exchange with unmoving blue eyes. Only someone who knew her quite well would've detected the guilt, pain, and (she had to admit) jealousy. She coughed rather loudly, calling her fellow Heirs to put it together.  
  
"Come," She said. Ron, Harry and Hermione followed her example, and when the doors of Hogwarts Castle opened, the four of them went out together.  
  
They arrived just as the armies of Voldemort and Marigold clashed for a second time. Wordlessly they plunged into the fray, working their way toward Voldemort. They didn't need to talk or search to find the Dark Lord, for some reason they all just knew which way he was.  
  
The Death Eaters were overwhelming Sirius's tiny army, sheer numbers overtaking many of Marigold's most valiant men. Harmony felt a fire burn within her as she watched the boys, many of whom she had known all her life, fell before the Dark Lord's army.  
  
'We're never going to win this battle,' Harry thought, looking around with a pang at all the people dying. Similar thoughts were passing through the minds of the others. Just when they were seriously considering giving up hope...  
  
"CHARGE!" A shout rang through the air. It was Miranda Himalia leading an entire army of Hogwarts fifth, sixth, seventh years and faculty. Ron saw this and couldn't help but grin. Trust Mindy, in spite of everything, to do something ridiculous like that.  
  
However, Ron wasn't smiling for long. In next to no time, it seemed, Ron was beholding the very face of evil: Lord Voldemort himself.  
  
He smiled at them, and Ron felt chills running down his back. There seemed to be a clearing in the battle just for them, as if he had been waiting. It was Harry who first reacted, as Ron knew it would be. With a final look at Hermione, he boldly stepped forward and raised his wand.  
  
There were no bows, not even an exchange of words, before Harry and Voldemort were dueling. If there had ever been a time Ron didn't envy Harry it was at that moment. He managed to stand up to him for fifteen minutes, which stretched as an eternity for Ron, Harmony, and mostly Hermione. The Dark Lord sent a jet of bright blue light at the Boy Who Lived, and with a cry of distress from Hermione he fell to the ground: alive but unconscious.  
  
Hermione looked from Harry to Voldemort and normally soft blue eyes hardened and flashed. With a snarl, she ran at him, her wand spitting spells. It didn't take very long for Hermione to fall next to Harry, who was just starting to wake up. He immediately checked Hermione's pulsed, and nearly fainted again when he knew she was still alive.  
  
Ron knew he was next. He stepped up and met the Dark Lord's eye. Then they were dueling. Ron knew he was going to lose, so long as he didn't die that would be okay. But nonetheless, he found thoughts of his past, of his mistakes, of his life flying through his mind. He realized how stupid he had been these last few months. He should've gone back to Hogwarts and taken Harmony with him. Oh Lord, how he loved her. Why hadn't he told her? How could he have been so stupid, so stubborn? Why hadn't he ever told Harry that he loved him like a brother, and that Hermione, next to Hermione, was the person who understood him better than anyone? Why hadn't he told his parents everything and given his mother an extra hug before she left? Or told Ginny that she was the best sister in this world and his favorite sibling, and verbally told her that he didn't mind Draco Malfoy if that's what made her happy?  
  
He didn't have time to answer his own questions. He lasted only a few minutes longer than Hermione had. He hardly felt the curse that hit him in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. He couldn't think of the what-ifs now, he had to prepare. He knew what was coming, and he had to stay focused. He clasped the badger around his neck and watched where Harry was lying. He couldn't bring himself to watch as Harmony faced her kinsman, fighting for the final call on the right to be Slytherin's Heir. He knew that if he watched Voldemort attacking Harmony he would jump up and attack, and he mustn't. He knew he had to wait.  
  
Ron was dimly aware of the fact that around him the battle had all but ceased. Teacher, student, Marigold army man and Death Eater alike stood around the circle where the duel between the Heirs of Slytherin was taking place. He watched Harry, waiting for the signal, waiting...  
  
Finally, it happened. As if guided by some outside force, Harry leapt to his feet, holding out his amulet. The ruby lion looked like a firecracker in his hand as he began to shout at the top of his lungs the incantation he hadn't known he knew. "In the name of Godric Gryffindor I summon the Sword of Honor. In the name of Godric Gryffindor I summon the sword of-"  
  
Hermione jumped up now, catching on. She held up the sapphire eagle, and began to chant. "In the name of Rowena Ravenclaw I summon the Lance of Wisdom. In the-"  
  
Ron, who had known this was all going to transpire and didn't have to wait for the implanted Hufflepuff knowledge descended from millennia to kick in, leapt to his feet with the ebony badger in his fist. "In the name of Helga Hufflepuff I summon the Arrows of Loyalty. In the name of Helga Hufflepuff..."  
  
Voldemort was looking around at them, somewhat confused but still on his guard. Neither he nor anyone else heard Harmony soft chant for the Dagger of Justice. It was tucked neatly in her boot, so she hardly needed to make a scene.  
  
In a flash, Harry found himself holding the sword his had last seen five years ago in the Chamber of secrets. Hermione was next. With a jolt she opened her eyes and saw a lance with an intimidating jagged point at the end. The long pole-like handle was of bronze and partially encrusted with sapphires. She would later see an elegant script declaring the words Rowena Ravenclaw. Ron was next. His bow was made of ebony, and engraved in gold was the name of Helga Hufflepuff. He wasn't concerned about he bow however. He reached into the quiver now at his back and pulled out one of the ebony bows with strong steel points painted a bright yellow. He quickly fitted it in place.  
  
Ron knew what to do, and he knew the others did too. As one, he, Harry and Hermione shot their weapons at the Dark Lord. The arrow pierced his heart, the sword his stomach, and the lance through his right shoulder. Ron's heart began to flutter with the realization of victory until the Dark Lord smiled.  
  
"You cannot kill me in spirit," He whispered. It was then that all three of them realized the Weapon of Slytherin had not pierced the Dark Lord. Ron looked wildly around for Harmony. His eyes found her just in time to see her raise the dagger and...  
  
A bright light momentarily blinded the world. Voldemort let out a piercing scream as he died, body and spirit. The light cleared and Ron's heart stopped as his eyes found her.  
  
Harmony was lying on the ground, her arms at weird angles and her golden locks twisted around her body. A pool of blood was quickly forming around her, and the emerald encrusted silver hilt of Slytherin's Dagger of Justice protruding from her stomach.  
  
"No," Ron whispered, not even able to hear himself as he ran to her body. "No!" Louder this time as his knelt down onto the grass, lifter her head onto his lap. Her hand rolled away from her body at the movement, landing in the pool of blood, but her eyes would not open. 


	25. Of Endings, Explanations, and Gryffindor...

Chapter Twenty-Five  
Of Endings, Explanations, and Gryffindor's Forgiveness  
"Harmony!" The exclamation came from Sirius, who was next to her nearly as fast as Ron. "Oh God...she's dead."  
  
"NO!" Ron shouted at the top of his lungs, cradling her head. "No...she can't be...Harmony?" Her name came out in a ragged whisper. He felt the sobs coming up from within him, and there was no way he could repress them. His head hanging low, he began to cry angrily and bitterly. His tears did not awaken her.  
  
"Ron..." He didn't look up. The speaker had been Ginny, who was standing over her brother and looking down at the girl she had begun to love as a sister. She herself was crying, but she knew her brother had to be in an even worse state.   
  
She turned her head away into the shoulder of Draco, who held her close. His unblinking eyes were also on Harmony, but he never shed a tear. Just sort of...stared.  
  
Now behind Sirius, neither Mindy nor Crystal held back tears. Crystal was silent, but Mindy's teeth were chattering she was crying so hard. Her hand was tightly clasped in that of Remus, who had shed a few tears himself.  
  
Suddenly a wordless, animal cry from Ron made them all jump. He leapt his feet and started screaming in Badger, which, as he screamed, was more ferocious than Dragon. His wand was out, but there was no one to shoot. All those who had known Harmony were there. Harry and Hermione were as still as statues, staring. But outside of this little sphere, the world was celebrating. Another victory for Harry Potter! Voldemort was dead! The reign of terror was over!  
  
For a moment, Harry feared Ron would kill someone. But after a few moments, he dropped his wand entirely and turned away, his face in his hands. Ginny rushed to him and threw her arms around him. She and Malfoy lead him away from the crowds, back up to the school.  
  
It was Sirius's strong arms that lifted the beautiful young girl. He carried her through the celebrations and up to the castle's stone steps with Jenkins, Mindy, and Remus not far behind. Harry and Hermione trotted after them, in shock.  
  
"She really...she really was on our side," Hermione said, sounding dumbfounded.  
  
"Yeah," Harry muttered. He found himself hardly aware of the world as he followed the Sirius through the halls. Voldemort was dead. The man he had feared, fought, and hated his entire life was suddenly...gone. Dead. Harry was just shocked, looking around the castle as if he had never seen it before.  
  
The realization of the losses that had been suffered hit him immediately as he walked into the Hospital, which had been magically enlarged to fit all the wounded. Harry looked around, feeling almost guilty for not being wounded with these young brave souls. There had been a magically door erected that led to a different room that Harry quickly learned housed the injured Death Eaters.  
  
Harry fought the dread in his heart and turned to where Sirius had laid the body of Harmony Slytherin. All those who had rushed to her side were there, but it was Ron who stood next to the bed, holding the pale, lifeless hand.  
  
"Ron," Harry whispered. His friend didn't turn. Harry wanted to talk to Ron, to ease whatever pain he was feeling. The problem was Harry wasn't even entirely sure of WHAT Ron was feeling. Who was this Harmony, and why did her death affect Ron so painfully? Why did he look as if the world had ended, as if the sun had left and would never return? Why did he look exactly like Harry knew he would have if it had been Hermione who was lying in that bed?  
  
"Come," A deep voice said, a hand landing on his shoulder. Harry turned to see Sirius, pain written across his face. Harry turned without protest and Hermione did the same. The others followed them out, and somehow Harry knew they knew why Ron so desperately needed time alone with her to grieve.  
  
There were ten of them, making a grave procession up to the Gryffindor common room. Mindy's cries had subsided somewhat, but her sniffles were still constant and she had Remus's arm in a death grip. Crystal walked silently next to Sirius, who had taken her hand and refused to let it go. Harry and Hermione were walking behind the older generation, and bringing up the rear were Ginny and Malfoy. Ginny's sobs had not lessened.  
  
They sat down in the common room silently. The mourning in the air was mixed with a dreaded awkwardness by the presence of Harry and Hermione, who the others knew were bursting with unsaid questions.  
  
"Let's wait until Ron gets here," Ginny said quietly, and all the others nodded. Hermione bit her lip in order to stop the questions on the very tip of her tongue.  
  
They waited for over half an hour for Ron to arrive. He looked terrible. His face was pale and tearstained, his eyes dull and dark, his hair disheveled and on top of all that he appeared to be shaking. All the questions burning in Harry and Hermione's minds suddenly became shy. For some reason, it just seemed wrong to try and wring information out of a person who was so obviously miserable.  
  
"Decided to wait for me before getting the third degree?" He asked, trying to smile and succeeding in only looking more miserable than before. He slowly crossed the room and lowered himself into one of the chairs. "Go on then."  
  
"Er..." Harry stuttered, trying to think of what to say. Ron sighed.  
  
"Let's just start from the beginning, shall we?" He asked. Closing his eyes he started droning much the same way Barty Crouch Jr. had done while under veritaserum only three years ago.  
  
"The beginning, really, is Salazar Slytherin. He sunk into the Dark Arts and created an heir to rid Hogwarts of Muggleborns and created the Chamber of Secrets ect. He was banished by the other Founders to the forest, which then became the Forbidden Forest. All this you know, and its where human accounts of Slytherin end.  
  
"However, unknown to the human community, Salazar fell in love with a nymph. To make a long story short, he pulled himself out of the Dark Arts and regretted turning against the other three. To make up for it, he wanted to create a second heir to assist the heirs of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, who were to fight his first heir. He tried to return to Hogwarts, but he driven away by military force.  
  
"However, he found sympathy in Helga Hufflepuff, and childhood friend and colleague. Helga understood Salazar, they had both been serfs under Godric's father before beginning Hogwarts. Helga sneaked Salazar's second heir, who would be a descendent of his nymph wife and therefore a sprite, into the spell, which, as you now know, required Amulets and Weapons. Rowena Ravenclaw found out, accused Helga of treachery and they began to duel. In the end Rowena killed Helga.  
  
"The four of us are, obviously, descendents of the Founders. Harry of Godric, Hermione of Rowena, Harmony of Salazar and I myself of Helga. I was never kidnapped. Ginny and I got into a fight and I stormed out of the house. After several days of stumbling about I found Harmony. She offered me shelter and I discovered Sirius had been hiding there. I decided to join them.  
  
"She finally told me the story, and asked me if I would like to go home to Hogwarts. I'm sorry Harry and Hermione, but I stayed. I needed..." For the first time since the beginning of the narrative Ron's voice cracked. He couldn't admit that he had been in love with Harmony, not yet, not here, not like this. The memory of his love for Harmony...the love he now realized had always been returned that he had been to stupid, to stubborn...he chose his words with caution. "I needed to prepare for the battle. She trained me in dueling with various weapons as well as with a wand.  
  
"I can't really place how so many other humans got mixed up in the mess. Crystal was in love with Sirius, I think she's been seeing him for quite a while...far before I came into the picture. Harmony and I stumbled on Ginny and Draco in the woods on Christmas night, so obviously they had to hear about it. Mindy was running from Remus after being bitten, we gave them treatment. That was the night of my funeral. Harmony and I were there you know.  
  
"After a time, it was decided that Harmony would need to spend an interval at Hogwarts. The politics in Marigold-the sprite city where we were staying-are hard to describe. To be accepted into the society Sirius and I both had to pass a series of...tests, I suppose. Trials. We received certain privileges, including being able to converse with animals...which is how I learned Parseltongue, in case you were curious. So, to accept human society as a whole it was decided Harmony would be sent to Hogwarts...did I mention she's the princess? Oh, well, she is...was, rather.  
  
"She couldn't just up and say she was a Slytherin, obviously, which is why she took the alias Brooke Silinster. While you all were off frolicking in Hogsmeade, she learned that she could summon Voldemort and finish it all up quick and basically bloodless by taking the offensive. That's why Sirius, her and I were out there that night, Harry. We were going to summon him, alert you, and get it the hell over with. After being unsuccessful several times, Sirius and I left. I don't really know what happened except that she was caught and her wand snapped. We both had centaur mane wands, and through ancient magic we switched places. The rest you know."  
  
After this lecture Ron's blue eyes opened and locked with Harry's green orbs. Harry saw the brutal honesty in his best friend's desperate grief, but he knew there was something more. He didn't dare push to poor guy anymore that night.  
  
"Go to bed, Ron," Ginny whispered, walking over to her brother and putting her arm around his shoulders. As if he hadn't heard her he stood up and left the common room via the portrait. Harry's eyes followed the silent form, and then turned to the others.  
  
He wanted to be angry. Goddamn it! Ron was his best friend, why didn't someone tell him what was going on. However, when he saw the grieving faces of the others all the anger drained out of him. They were just as miserable as Ron was, for that same intangible and yet very real reason, and Harry finally identified it: Harmony Slytherin had been a friend of theirs. The idea, he realized, had never entered his mind before.  
  
"Where did he go?" Hermione asked, and Harry realized for the first time that his girlfriend was crying. She was trying to hide it but failing miserably.  
  
"He went to Harmony," Sirius replied quietly, his gaze not leaving the floor. "He needs closure, let him be." The others nodded silently.  
  
"We should all get to bed," Mindy finally said. Her sobs had subsided, but her eyes were puffy and her cheeks tearstained. There was a general murmur of agreement and they all grudgingly put themselves to bed.  
  
However tired he was, Harry couldn't sleep. He had stripped the ceremonial Gryffindor robes and showered, and was now lying in his pajamas tossing and turning. The vision of Ron's face when he had seen her lying like that, the gleam in his eye when he thought Harry was attacking her, the pain in his voice as he had spoken...  
  
Just before dawn Harry rose and changed into his regular clothing. Seamus, Dean, and Neville, who had all thankfully survived the assault, were still passed out in their beds. He noticed that Ron still wasn't there.  
  
The castle itself seemed exhausted from the ordeal. Harry was undisturbed as his feet silently made their way toward the Hospital Wing. He hadn't bothered with the invisibility cloak or map. He didn't expect resistance.  
  
When he slipped into the Hospital wing the sun was just beginning to rise. Only the most critically injured remained in the wing, but set apart from them all was the bed in which the body of Harmony Slytherin lie. Ron was sitting right next to her, his hand enclosing the small pale one of the girl, his hand on her forehead and his head bowed either in grief or in slumber. The first rays of sunlight were pouring through the windows, turning Harmony's hair into liquid gold and illuminating half of Ron's worn face, making the tear marks shine like mother of pearl in contrast to the dark circles under his eyes. Ron was still in his bloody Hufflepuff robes, and Harmony's elegant green garment hadn't been removed either.  
  
Harry almost didn't want to interrupt. They made the perfect picture, a portrait of Chivalry mourning Beauty. However, Harry knew that Ron needed sleep. He nudged his best friend, and was unsurprised to find that Ron had not been sleeping. His glazed blue eyes seemed to look right through Harry.  
  
"C'mon Ron," He whispered. "You should sleep."  
  
"Sleep," Ron echoed, as if the word were foreign. Harry nodded and helped Ron to his feet. He cast a last look at Harmony.  
  
"Don't worry," Harry said softly. "I won't let them take her before you say goodbye." He nodded numbly and left the Hospital wing.  
  
Harry sat down where Ron had been sitting, studying the mysterious woman in front of him.  
  
*~*  
  
~It wasn't until after the four of them had graduated that Voldemort had returned. The wizarding world was in terror. Lily and James Potter were among the first to die, just after their son Harry, the defeater of Voldemort as an infant, married the Muggleborn Hermione Granger. They never met their granddaughter, named Lily after her grandmother.  
  
Harmony watched in despair, wishing there was something she could do. But it wasn't her destiny. It was that of the Heirs. She was not an Heir.~  
  
*~*  
  
What if Harry hadn't jumped to all those conclusions? Would they have defeated Voldemort without having any casualties? A bloodless victory?  
  
Harmony was obviously a good person, to have won the friendship of such a varied range of wonderful people...well, he still didn't know about Malfoy, but other than that!   
  
He knew, right then, where all these problems stemmed from. It was his undeniable prejudice against Harmony for being a Slytherin. It was his detestation, passed down through generations, of all those associated with Salazar Slytherin and his legacy. It had never occurred to Harry, Harry Potter, the boy who found good in everyone, that Slytherin had a good side too. He was just regarded as the villain.  
  
What if...?  
  
*~*  
  
~Yes, Harry's generation had escaped unscathed because Harmony had not been destined to be an heir. But their children...  
  
She watched in horror as Voldemort entered the Potters' home. Harry was killed defending his family, and Hermione died pleading for her daughter's life. Voldemort went to kill Lily...~  
  
*~*  
  
"Oh God," Harry said as the guilt really hit home. This was all his fault. If he hadn't been so stupid, so stubborn, so completely blind in his hatred...this girl, this girl who was obviously not the evil he had thought she was, this innocent, loving girl's life would've been spared.  
  
Harry's shoulders shook with the weight of the guilt. He felt tears in his eyes, and he knew he was going to cry.  
  
"I'm sorry," He whispered through his sobs. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...It wasn't her fault!"  
  
*~*  
  
It was happening all over again. It was all her fault. Lily Potter, orphaned, had just defeated Voldemort, but he wasn't dead. He would return. And the whole ugly cycle would begin again.  
  
And all because Harmony hadn't been destined to become an heir, all because Slytherin hadn't created a second heir...all the reason she had cried with guilt for only days ago. She found that she wanted to sob, but it was too late now, she was gone...  
  
The darkness around her began to fade, with a light in front. She was sure she was dying...but since when was dying so painful. The light blinded her for a moment, but when she opened her eyes she saw neither Heaven nor Hell, but clean white walls and a standard hospital bed, and a dark head bent over in sobs. She blinked.  
  
"Harry?" She whispered. His head snapped up, the sobs ceasing in place of surprise.  
  
This was impossible. She was dead! He had seen her lying there, blood in a pool and pulse ceased. He had seen the dagger in her stomach and the look on Ron's face. She was dead.  
  
"But...but...you're dead. You died, I saw you..." He blathered. Her eyes widened.  
  
"You..." She breathed. "You...Harry, did you forgive me?"  
  
"What?" Harry replied, confused and frustrated.  
  
"Harry, don't you see? The only way I could not be dead...Godric Gryffindor cursed Salazar with his dying breath, saying Salazar would die without Godric's forgiveness. Harry, did you forgive me?"  
  
"Forgive you for what?"  
  
"Being a Slytherin," Harmony replied. He nodded and she started breathing heavily.  
  
"I can't believe..." She whispered. "I'm alive. Harry, I killed the evil of Slytherin within me, but I'm ALIVE!"  
  
"Yeah..." Harry replied. Feeling weird but feeling the need to prove it for himself he reached out and touched her arm. Her skin was warm with life. He met her eyes and saw they were filled with tears. In the next moment they were hugging and Harmony was crying for joy.  
  
"This is so strange," She said, pulling away and laughing through her tears. Harry laughed outright.  
  
"You're telling me!"  
  
"Where's my ring?!" She cried suddenly, grabbing her throat as if just realizing something wasn't there.   
  
"All your things are here," Harry gestured to the bedside table. The dagger, the amulet...for the first time he saw a thin gold chain with a diamond ring. Sighing with relief, she snatched it and took the ring off the chain, slipping it on her finger.  
  
"Was Ron here?" She asked, looking from the ring to Harry. It hit him like a ton of bricks.  
  
"Oh my God...you two are in love."  
  
"Ron and I?" She asked, and smiled sadly. "I'm in love with him. I think he loved me...we got in this giant fight and it was all my fault and-"  
  
"No!" Harry interrupted, feeling immensely stupid. "Jesus...I can't believe I've been so blind. Ron looked...Harmony, he sat up here all night. I had to come and make him go to bed and...I can't believe I didn't realize you were in love. I'll get him."  
  
"Wait!" Harmony cried, leaping to her feet. Harry got the impulse to make her lay down but it was obvious that she had not intentions of doing so. "Let me clean up and...bring him to the classroom in the next hall over, you know where I mean. Don't tell him, please?"  
  
"Okay..." He agreed, not quite understanding but knowing better than to argue.  
  
Harmony ran off in the direction of that classroom and Harry found himself going after Ron at a slower pace. He looked at the clock and realized he had been in the hospital wing for less than an hour. Was that possible? Life beforehand might've been a different world!  
  
When he reached the dormitory he found himself uneager to awaken Ron. He was finally asleep, although it was obviously a troubled slumber. Fighting to keep his composure he shook his best friend awake.  
  
"Harry?" He asked blurrily. "What is it?"  
  
"C'mon, Ron. I've got something I need to show you."  
  
"Kay," He muttered, to tired and grief worn to argue. The castle was just beginning to wake up, but only the earliest of risers were awake. No one saw Harry and Ron leave the common room. They went through the nearly deserted corridors until they approached the classroom. Not knowing what to expect, Harry gingerly opened the door and allowed Ron in first. His dull eyes surveyed the room, and stopped dead on Harmony.  
  
"H...Harm..."  
  
"Ron," She whispered. No more words were needed. Ron swept across the room and pulled her into a fierce and passionate kiss, as if needing to make sure she was really there. Harry shut the door after them, feeling they needed some time alone.  
  
He knocked after a time, and it was Ron who called for him to come it. Harry obeyed, and nearly staggered at the difference in his best friend. His eyes were alight with life, his crazy grin in place like never before and he was glowing, literally glowing, and Harmony was as well.  
  
"Thanks, mate," Ron said, giving Harry a brotherly embrace. Harry flushed, and they didn't say anymore about it.  
  
"Wow. I thought you two were never going to finish," Harry joked, hoping to ease the atmosphere. He succeeded as the other two laughed...although right then they probably would've laughed at anything.  
  
"And...Harmony?" A disbelieving voice muttered from the entrance. They looked to see Crystal who had been talking to Mindy, and it was then that Harry realized they were in the Defense classroom.  
  
"Crystal!" Harmony cried. "Mindy!"   
  
"Oh my God, your alive!" Mindy screamed, and the three girls were pulled into a hug mixed with plenty of tears.  
  
"Sirius!" Crystal screamed. "Sirius! Remus! HARMONY'S ALIVE!"  
  
The two men ran in, and soon had their arms wrapped around Harmony as well. Ginny came in and stared for a few moments before bursting into sobs and following her elder's examples. Draco didn't cry, but he did break out of his shell long enough to join in the general hug-fest. So did Hermione, when she finally came by after hearing all the screaming. Stories, words, and promises flew throughout the room, which was bursting with joy.  
  
"I take it we're still engaged then?" Harmony asked once she was back in Ron's arms.  
  
"Yes, that would be correct, your majesty," Ron answered soberly, then they both laughed. It was then that something occurred to Harry.  
  
"Hey you two...Hey! YOU TWO!" He yelled, trying to sound frustrated but coming off as playful, which he was. Ron and Harmony turned around.  
  
"You didn't...Okay, I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but...Harmony, you don't sing, do you?"  
  
"Sing?" She echoed. "Yeah, all the time."  
  
"Not that you would remember, but this last Halloween...I heard this voice from the woods singing. It couldn't have been you though...could it?"  
  
"Yes!" Harmony said in remembrance. "Yes, it was. How did you know?"  
  
"I heard you," Harry replied, seeing where everything finally fit. "And at Ron's funeral..."  
  
"I sang there to. In Snake, of course...which is why you could hear me!" She laughed out loud.  
  
"See, I was at Hogwarts the whole time in spirit. I was the Voice in the Woods!"  
  
"Yeah," Harry laughed, nodding. "Yeah..." Suddenly he turned to Hermione. "I meant to do this a few weeks ago, but I got distracted when I saw Slytherin on the Marauder's Map."  
  
He reached into the pocket of his robes, and it was there like he knew it would be. With no shame he dropped to one knee in front of them all and held the now open box out to Hermione. "Hermione Granger, will you marry me?"  
  
"Oh Harry," Hermione whispered...then answered with a kiss. Sirius began to catcall and Ron whistled loudly, Ginny and Draco kissed while Mindy smiled in a pleasant thought. Everything was perfect.  
A short note to the Reader, think of it as an epilogue:  
  
It's been five years now. Harry and Hermione have three beautiful children. King Shinra passed on peacefully, and Ron and Harmony now rule as King and Queen of Marigold. They are the proud parents of a baby girl, who will, one day, become Queen. Sirius and Crystal Black, Mindy and Remus Lupin and Ginny and Draco Malfoy are all on the Council of Marigold with the Potters. Marigold remains an independent state, but they are now openly friendly with Human England.  
  
The battle is remembered, of course. The story of the valiant deeds of those who died, and Queen Harmony the Fair plunging herself with a dagger to insure that Voldemort would never return is told again and again. But that's not the story you hear most often. When you start a conversation with any of them: Harmony or Remus, Harry or Mindy, Ron or Draco, you'll get the same story. They day Harmony returned when they thought she was dead, Harry and Hermione became engaged, and all the grievances between Slytherin and Gryffindor forgotten.  
  
For the sake of history, I found it necessary to preserve this year, especially the side of Ron and Harmony Weasley, whose story was kept rather secret. It is imperative to remember their story lest history repeats itself. I have peered into their thoughts, and written this account for your benefit. No need to thank me, its all part of my job.  
  
Just promise me one thing. Promise that you will never forget the story of the Heirs. Brave Harry Potter, destined for greatness since birth, and wise Hermione Granger, now Potter. Poor but loyal Ronald Weasley who rose to be a king, but most of all Harmony Slytherin, the woman who was willing to sacrifice her life for Hogwarts, a place she had never known and that only knew her as a mysterious voice in the woods.  
  
Sincerely,  
The Sorting Hat  
A/N: I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Okay, now that I have that out of my system...  
  
Huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story. I love you all and you're what keeps me going.  
  
Cinnamon pancakes, unicorn rides and lots of love to:  
  
Just_a_girl-you've been a huge support for me!! I hope this helps cure your withdrawal...lol. Thanks a lot for your reviews, compliments, and constructive criticism!  
  
Lily Lupin-Hey girl! I really appreciate your thoughts, thanks for reading my fics!! I love you!!!!!!!!!! ^_^_^_^  
  
Fyredra-Hello dearie! I don't know if you know this, but you've really helped me a lot. You're full of good advice and even better reviews (*wink*) Thanks for reading!  
  
Meggie-How many times have you read this? You're nuts! I love you for it though ^_~ Well, here's the last chapter, thanks for the reviews.  
  
Kiara-You're awesome. Thanks for the reviews. You're always one of the first to review when I update. My love!!!!!!  
  
Bean-Honestly, I think you've reviewed for everything I've ever written. How can you beat that? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!  
  
CrystalHorse72-Hello my friend! Everyone should love you, you've inspired me to write this so many times...if not for you I'd probably never update. ^_~ Thanks dearie!!  
Chicas who made this story possible:  
  
Sierra Charm-You really love reviewing this, don't you? Do you remember when I first started writing this? We were the only two who had read HP and u posted it on your account because I was to lazy to get one...lol, those were the days. Thanks girlie  
  
SilverPhoenixWings-You have reviewed this story about ten trillion times...okay, so there's only 25 chapters...your point? *grin* Thanks for the support, dear.  
  
Britz-Aka Britzie...lololol! J/k, I know you hate that. Thanks so much for your reviews, support, and hyper conversations!!  
  
Diana Snape-You haven't read this yet, but you know what, I love you anyway!!!!! ^_^ What is there to say, you're my other half, Spoon! I'll get you to read this yet!! ^_~  
THIS STORY IS DEDICATED TO STAR*DUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
If anyone deserves it honey, its you. Pineapple queen, without you to babble to endlessly about fanfic, where would this story be? Think of all the times I've thought of something brilliant while talking with you! ^_^ Thanks for inspiration for this fic and all the others...well, maybe not the fact that there ARE so many others....lol, *wink* 


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